Sunny Parade Coeur D’Alene Has Largest Fred Murphy Days Event Yet

It was Laredo’s first chance to be in a parade and all the youngster seemed to care about was feeding his face.

The 1-year-old llama barely eyed the baton twirlers and flowery floats Saturday before stuffing his mouth full of grass from the side of the road.

That didn’t surprise Chuck Riley of Llamas of Coeur d’Alene. The fluffy long-necked creatures aren’t about to let the glamour and fame of being in the Fred Murphy Days Parade give them a case of stage fright.

“This is the little guy’s first time off the farm and you can see how he just stands there,” Riley said, nodding toward the brown and white llama as he patiently waited to march down Sherman Avenue.

Whether a horse, dog, llama or human, Saturday’s sunny weather made it a pleasant day for the annual Fred Murphy Days Parade.

The event boasted 85 entrants, making it the largest yet, said Stephen Gregory, organizer.

Clowns, tumbling gymnasts and a marching group of mop twirling women called The Real Hot Mamas were among the entrants.

Perched on a street curb, Jenny Bohna, 8, said it’s the animals that brings her to the parade.

“They run funny,” she said eyeing one of the five llamas in the parade as it trotted away from an admiring group of children. “I like the horses the best.”

While llamas may be well-suited to parade stardom, Kathy Hollett said horses can tend to get a little skittish - especially when the firetruck sirens wail.

She and her horse Cheyanne rode the parade with 18 other horse riders from the Kootenai County Saddle Club.

Easing her horse’s fears wasn’t all that difficult.

She just talked to it.

“Easy, easy,” she told Cheyanne. “You have to be calm up here to keep your horse calm down there.”

The parade’s 15 blocks made for a pretty long trek for Otto - especially since his legs are only a few inches long.

“I think he’s getting tired,” said Sandy Thompson, of the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce. She and her dachshund walked alongside the chamber’s float during the parade.

With tongue hanging out, Otto headed strait for a patch of shade in the grass as they neared the end.

“He’s saying, ‘I think I want to cool off a little,”’ Thompson said.