The Edward P. Maloney Memorial Pipe Band from Binghamton, N.Y. marches in last year’s Strawberry Festival Parade. (File Photos)
These Civil War re-enactors came to the Strawberry Festival Parade last year thanks to the Tioga County Historical Society.
John Cuomo drove his Ferguson tractor in the Strawberry Festival Parade last year. The Southern Tier Antique Tractor Club had many tractors in the parade.
A perennial crowd favorite, the Kirby Band, performs on Main Street during last year’s Strawberry Festival Parade.
The 35th Annual Strawberry Festival will be ushered in at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 20 with the traditional parade through downtown Owego, one of the largest in the Southern Tier.
“It’s one of the largest parades in the area,” Tim Sayres said, “only the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in Binghamton might be a bigger parade.” Sayres is coordinating the parade with Debora Bernagozzi. This is their first year working on the Strawberry Festival Parade, and it’s been pretty hectic. “I’ve been staying busy,” Sayres laughed.
This year there are 90 units in the parade, with ten musical acts,” Sayres said. The parade’s running time is an hour, from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 20. There will be plenty of music in the parade, like Owego’s Free Academy Marching Band, and everything in between, Sayers said. Some of the crowd favorites are also coming back like the Hitmen from Rochester, N.Y. and the Edward P. Maloney Memorial Pipe Band.
Many youth organizations are marching too, Sayers said. The Boys and Girls Club, soccer and lacrosse teams, and 4-H are among the marchers. Politicians of all shapes and sizes too, Sayers said, along with a giant carved strawberry, historic re-enactors, microds and dirt rods, and the Owego VFW Post 1371 Color Guard, will make for an exciting and action packed parade. There’s also the Southern Tier Antique Tractor Club, several classic cars, horses and riders, just too much to list it all.
Coming from a farm background Sayers said some of the most interesting parade units for him are the horses, along with perennial crowd favorites the Kirby Band from Nichols, though he said it was really too hard to choose a favorite.
Sayers is no stranger to the parade, having worked the past few years with Boy Scout Troop 38 to wrangle the parade as it forms up and gets under way. Strawberry Festival Co-Chairperson Fran Dunbar said there is no replacement for the contributions made by the Boy Scouts, Owego Police and Fire Departments, and the Village of Owego.
This year’s Parade Marshall is the Village of Owego’s Mayor Kevin Millar. Dunbar said that Millar had served as mayor during some tough times in the aftermath of the 2011 flood, and many in the village wanted to show their appreciation by nominating Millar to be the Parade Marshall.
“I’m very honored to have been asked to be the Parade Marshall this year,” Millar said, “I always enjoy the Strawberry Festival and the parade, and I’m looking forward to another successful event this year.”
Sayers said people start lining up at 9 a.m. to get good spots to watch the parade, and he suggested everyone comes early to enjoy the parade. “Get out early and cheer everybody on,” Sayers said.
