GREENFIELD — As the 175th Franklin County Fair kicked off with “Rooted in Our Community” serving as its theme, people lining the streets and those participating in the annual kickoff parade showed off just how deep those roots go, with folks sharing their decades of experience in attending the fair.

On a sunny Thursday afternoon, residents from around the Pioneer Valley gathered from Greenfield Middle School all the way down Federal and Main streets to mark the start of one of the region’s most-celebrated events, estimated to entertain roughly 25,000 attendees, all while businesses, residents, nonprofits and other community groups marched down the streets.

As floats, tractors, trailers and other vehicles prepped at the middle school, Donnie Bisbee, of Clay Hill Farm in Chesterfield, said the Franklin County Fair is a wonderful event for the Pioneer Valley. Bisbee said they’ve been participating in the parade for several years now and he’s been attending the event for nearly 40 years now.

“I think it means a lot,” Bisbee said, adding, as always, he and his family are looking forward to the dairy show at the fair, as well as getting some fair food. “You see the same people every year; it’s a community thing.”

As he sat in his 1976 Corvette with his wife on Beacon Street, Northfield resident Laurence Jarvis said he was participating in the parade for the first time on a whim to have some fun. The Franklin County Fair, though, is no stranger to Jarvis, as he’s attended many times before.

“It’s fun to meet old friends and see new friends,” Jarvis said.

Fitting in with the deeply rooted community theme, Boy Scout Troop 5 members were getting ready to march in the parade Thursday and help keep the fairgrounds clean this weekend. The 22 Scouts will be doing trash pickup after some of the events this weekend, according to Scoutmaster Paul Babineau.

Babineau said the Franklin County Fair is the epitome of community and the Franklin County Agricultural Society, which runs the fairgrounds on Wisdom Way, now serves as their charter representative.

“It’s all about community,” Babineau said. “It’s amazing. For us, that’s why we went to them when we needed a charter representative.”

The Franklin County Fair runs through Sunday, with gates opening at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon and at 8 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $9 for seniors and children ages 9 to 17, $12 for adults, and free for children ages 8 and under. Parking costs $10.

For more information about the Franklin County Fair, including an up-to-date list of events and activities, visit fcas.com or the fair’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/FranklinCountyFairGreenfield.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.