I’ve watched many parades and I’ve been in a few myself. But after seeing the Veterans Honor Parade this weekend in downtown Hopkinsville, I came away with a new appreciation for what makes a parade an excellent experience. I think it’s when the people in the parade and the people watching them share a nearly equal level of enthusiasm for the event.
Saturday morning, as we waited for the veterans and the bands and the color guard to make their way up South Virginia Street, I met one of the spectators.
Tiffany Gilbert had staked out her spot at the corner of Ninth and Virginia streets. This is where the parade would turn to make its way to the Christian County Justice Center. I had chosen the same spot because it looked like the best angle to get photos of the marchers. But what I noticed on that corner was something else — that the spectators are often just as interesting as the people in the parade.
Saturday morning, as we waited for the veterans and the bands and the color guard to make their way up South Virginia Street, I met one of the spectators.
Tiffany Gilbert had staked out her spot at the corner of Ninth and Virginia streets. This is where the parade would turn to make its way to the Christian County Justice Center. I had chosen the same spot because it looked like the best angle to get photos of the marchers. But what I noticed on that corner was something else — that the spectators are often just as interesting as the people in the parade.
Gilbert could barely contain her enthusiasm. She was waiting to see her husband, Navy veteran Jeffrey Gilbert, pass by with all the other veterans we were there to celebrate. When he eventually made the turn onto Ninth Street, his wife shouted, waved and recorded images with her cellphone.
Watching the Gilberts, I was reminded that this is how a great parade works. It’s the energy between the people in the parade and the people lining the sidewalk to cheer for them.
You can’t beat that.
Here are more photos I shot at the parade.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
