As the annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo kicks off Wednesday, organizers are busy preparing for the parade on Saturday.
Every year, marching bands, equestrian groups, antique cars, and decorative floats make their way down Broadway in Santa Maria for the Elks Rodeo Parade.
This year, there are approximately 130 entries in the parade, and organizer Jaime Flores says parade-goers can expect some exciting new entries.
“There's a Central Coast Corgis group, so we'll have a group of dogs coming through the parade, which should be pretty fun. I think all the kids will enjoy that,” Flores said. “And this year we have a special guest. Our star of the parade is the celebrity from ‘Farmer Wants a Wife.’”
Flores says work to plan the parade has been going on for months.
“It's a really big production. Our first meetings start in late January, but I've already have been working on things behind the scenes probably for a couple of months at that point,” he said.
The first Santa Maria Elks Rodeo took place in 1944, and the parade has been around for nearly as long.
Participation in the parade is a tradition for many Santa Maria-area families. This year, former Santa Maria mayor Larry Lavagnino will be the parade’s grand marshal. The junior grand marshal is Maddox Hageman, a senior at St. Joseph High School and a cancer survivor.
“The parade just has deep roots here in our community. It was established to bring all families together. It's a free event for everybody to come out [and] enjoy. There's so much that goes into it and it's a great way for us to showcase our community,” Flores said.
The parade starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 31. Broadway will be closed from Mill Street to Enos Drive.
KSBY will broadcast the parade live on the Laff network (channel 6.2). A replay will air on KSBY at 3 p.m.
