A Grand Old Flag Day In Fairfield
Flag Day isn’t till Wednesday. But if you’re wondering if anyone around here intends to note the occasion, here’s the answer: They already have.
Fairfield, a grain elevators-dominated community tucked in the southeast corner of Spokane County, calls itself “The town that celebrates Flag Day.”
And Saturday that’s what it did.
There was a baked ham dinner, a softball tournament, a fun run, a library open house, a cake walk, lawn mower races, a pie eating contest and a variety show. And if the sun got to be too much and you wanted to hang out in the tree-shaded town park, you could get your blood pressure checked, get your face painted, purchase various ridiculous geegaws and sniff German sausage fumes.
But, just as it is every year, the main event was a parade.
Before getting to the details, let’s address a few of your questions.
Was it sort of quaint and corny? Sure.
Straight out of “A Prairie Home Companion” almost? You betcha.
But wouldn’t there be a serious what’s-wrong-with-this-picture problem if someone from Spokane went to a little town and pretended to be some sort of snooty sophisticate when it comes to parades?
Correct.
Fairfield’s parade started with the national anthem and the Daughters of the American Revolution presenting the flag to the Cub Scouts.
Then came a color guard, a Veterans of Foreign Wars unit from nearby Rockford and the grand marshals riding in a big white convertible - Elmer and Olive Ottosen, married 70 years.
Spectators, many plunked down in lawn chairs, lined Main Street.
An announcer hooked up to loudspeakers in front of the post office noted the 45-minute procession of restored old cars, clowns and local politicians.
Various queens and princesses tossed candy and did the parade wave.
There were fire trucks, donkeys, a few floats and the Liberty High School marching band playing Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al.”
And when some teenage boys in the crowd got hold of a few helium balloons, they immediately inhaled helium and proceeded to talk in squeaky cartoon-character voices.
It’s easy to be too cool for a parade. It’s harder to go to one and not have fun.
, DataTimes MEMO: Being There is a weekly feature that visits gatherings in the Inland Northwest.