Ag Appreciation Parade Friday

MOSES LAKE - Tractors, stackers, combines and trucks studded with Christmas lights will hit Third Street Friday night, in honor of the season and the agriculture industry. The Ag Appreciation Parade begins at 7 p.m. It's sponsored by the Moses Lake Business Association.

The parade begins at 7 p.m., but the "street party" starts at 5 p.m., MLBA Director Jasmyne DeBeaumont said. Dale Roth will be the master of ceremonies.

Moses Lake High School music students will be singing carols at the corner of Division Street and Third Avenue about 5 p.m. Frontier Middle School students will sell hot dogs and coffee downtown.

Dr. Rory Knapp and his staff will provide cider and doughnuts downtown. Salvation Army volunteers will be collecting donations and handing out treats.

Santa will be available for photos from 5 to 7 p.m. at Red Door, 116 West Third Avenue. Because it's December, the activities include a roaring fire in a fire pit next to Pho Saigon, 115 West Third Ave. Kids will have an opportunity to roast marshmallows over the fire, DeBeaumont said.

The Rockin' B Cloggers will perform in Sinkuse Square at 6 p.m.

The parade will feature modern farm equipment, vintage farm equipment, farm trucks, long haul trucks, and Grant County Fire District No. 5 will take their traditional place at the tail end. Students from the Big Bend Community College aircraft firefighting classes will be in the parade as well. DeBeaumont said there are about 35 to 40 entries to date.

The parade celebrates the community's agricultural heritage and agriculture's continuing economic importance, DeBeaumont said, and serves as a kickoff to the Christmas season. For many families it's become an annual event, she said.

And people show up no matter how cold it gets, DeBeaumont said. "It's been single digits, snow on the ground, and people still come for the parade," she said.

People who want more information can contact DeBeaumont at 509-764-1745 or www.mlbacares.org.