The annual Sundre Pro Rodeo Parade provides families and friends with the opportunity to celebrate the community's spirit.
"Got the whole family!" said lifelong Sundre resident Steven Christoffersen when asked who he had come out with this year.
"Grandma, grandpa, my nephew, my niece, my three kids, my wife, my brother ó it's a family affair!" he said, adding some friends came along as well to celebrate the occasion.
The parade's friendly atmosphere keeps the family coming back every year, he told the Round Up, adding everyone also looks forward to checking out the rodeo action afterward.
"Oh yeah!" he said when asked whether they had plans to visit the rodeo grounds. "We're going to go watch the bulls beat up the cowboys!"
Sundre resident of 12 years Anton Walker had made a tradition of attending the parade with his late wife Margaret "rain or shine," and he was accompanied this year by his brother Lenin Walker, who was in town visiting from Florida.
"It's quite an experience!" said Lenin, who had never before had the chance to see the parade and the massive crowd that packs Main Avenue.
Anton said seeing the whole community come together is wonderful, and he also commended IGA owners Tom and Marty Mennear's contribution of a "fantastic breakfast" while behind the two brothers the lineup for pancakes and sausages kept growing during the hour leading up to the parade.
Featuring a combination of traditional elements such as horse-drawn buggies and marching bands ó including a first-ever appearance by the Calgary Round Up Marching Band ó as well as more modern vehicles and floats, this year's parade had about 90 entries, organizers said. This year's winning parade entry was the Sundre Garden Club's float.
"It's marvelous ó I'm really glad to see the work that the committee has done," said Bruce Temple, who was once part of the rodeo committee for 15 years.
He praised the energy and effort that the parade organizers have put into the event, as well as the support of all of the different sponsors, and said, "In Sundre, we have to be very proud of them."
Temple came out with his wife Darlene and her daughter Patricia Tricker, whose three children looked forward to seeing the floats, horses and of course getting some candy as well.
"It's entertaining and the kids love it!" said Tricker, who was born and raised in Sundre and now lives near Caroline.
Joyce Jewell, who has lived in Sundre her whole life and also runs a local travel business for more than 30 years, told the Round Up she has never missed the parade.
"It's fabulous, it's just organized to the nines this year ó it's looking awesome, I'm really impressed!"
This year's new route, which looped the procession back to the staging grounds along the Town of Sundre's main office by coming up Fourth Avenue S.W., provided residents of the Sundre Seniors Supportive Living facility with a much closer proximity to the parade for those who wanted to see it.
"Looks like it'll accommodate a lot of sightseers, I'm really happy about it," said Jewell.
Like many others such as the Christoffersens, Jewell planned to check out all of the rodeo performances.
"Our camper's parked up at the rodeo grounds!" she said, adding the weekend is always reserved specifically for Sundre's biggest event of the year.
Longtime parade organizer Moe Fahey told the Round Up she plans to step down and that she was glad to wind up her years with the committee on a successful note.
"We had support from everybody in the community ó it's just a wonderful thing," she said.
Fahey's faithful cohort Heidi Overguard said everything ran smoothly and that the new route would potentially be revised depending on input from the community.
"This is the route we wanted to try for this year to accommodate the seniors and create a space there and free up the (traffic) lights. Every year we're always trying to improve," she told the Round Up after the parade.
"We'll see what feedback we get from it, and where to go. If anybody has ideas, we're always willing to hear feedback," she said, welcoming anyone who is interested in doing so to email the committee at [email protected].
The organizer also expressed her gratitude for everyone who steps up to make the parade possible in the first place.
"We have a really good crew of people ó there are a ton of volunteers who help. We honestly couldn't do it without any of them, because they each have their job and it's crucial to having a successful event."
Overguard is also keeping her fingers crossed that Fahey will to one degree or another remain involved.
"Moe has done a ton of work. She's wonderful to work with, and hopefully she'll come back to help ó even behind the scenes!"
