ELLINWOOD — Politicians and political ads were in abundance Saturday for the Ellinwood After Harvest Festival parade. This year’s lineup included 95 entries, said Richard Kimple with the Ellinwood Rotary Club, organizers of the parade. At least a dozen of them carried people running for office, or were decorated with candidates’ names.
Temperatures still in the 80s Saturday morning when the parade got under way with a fly-over by an Ellinwood Flying Service crop duster. In City Park, members of the Mu Kappa chapter of Beta Sigma Phi sorority were preparing for their food booth for the activities that would follow.
“This is our 20th year,” said sorority member Alice Rush. They were selling brauts and hot dogs, available with a special recipe sour kraut, she said.
Lynette Barragan watched the parade from a vantage point near the emcee. Wearing a red straw cowgirl hat, she called that for many years she rode a horse in the parade.
“I’ve been here all my life,” Barragan said, adding the After Harvest Festival is something she looks forward to every year.
This was the first After Harvest Festival for Belinda Adams from New Albany, who operated Old Tyme Photography with her husband Mike. “I came last year for the cattle drive,” Adams said. She started toting a digital camera – disguised as 19th century tripod camera – to the Civil War reenactments Mike attended. Now they travel to events with camera and costumes so they can take old-time photos.
The festival continues with a beverage tent, games for kids, a corn eating contest and a dance Saturday evening.