By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
After taking a year off due to COVID-19, the Apple Blossom Parade is a go in St. Joseph for 2021.
The parade is set for Saturday, May 1 and will start at 9:30 a.m. at the corner of Frederick and Ashland Avenue and end in downtown near the area of 4th and Felix.
Ken Rosenauer, a longtime Apple Blossom Festival volunteer, says after the Ancient Order of Hibernians were able to have their St. Patrick's Day parade in St. Joseph last month, he knew that having the Apple Blossom parade back this year could be another step toward normalcy.
"The bottom line is we wanted to make sure we came back this year the first chance we could," Rosenauer said on KFEQ's The Hotline with Barry Birr. "Everybody, I don't care who you talk to, wants to get back to normal. Normal come the first Saturday of May is the Apple Blossom parade."
The Apple Blossom Festival won't quite be at full speed yet this year. While the parade is a go, the BBQ and pageant have both been canceled due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns. Even with those limitations, Rosenauer says parade goers will have an enjoyable time.
"There's still plenty of things for folks to do outside safely," he said. "We know we're trimmed back a bit, but we're coming back and we're hoping we come back next year as strong as ever."
The parade is free to attend, and there are around 50 float entries this year. The floats will be decorated with the theme "Telling our Stories."
The first Apple Blossom Parade and Festival in St. Joseph took place back in 1924, and has gone on continuously with the exception of the 2020 COVID shutdown.
Rosenauer says the parade and festival brings about a sense of springtime optimism and cheer, and he believes that's why the tradition has carried on for so long.
"The folks who participate in the parade and those who come out to watch the parade know there's that sense of rebirth and regrowth," Rosenauer said, "and good things coming just down the road. I think that's why we continue to do what we do."
