MONTAGUE — Spring has come — with flowers, sunshine and warmer weather. In Turners Falls, it came with superheroes — Batman, Superman, Spiderman and more.
Saturday was the eighth annual Franklin County Spring Parade. From the Sheffield Elementary School, a procession of local businesses, organizations, politicians and people embarked on a three-mile tour of the town.
Many dressed up for this year’s parade, which had a superhero theme, including Montague police, who led the parade in their cruisers, wearing masks — even a K-9 dog sported a Superman outfit.
Lining the streets, residents cheered the paraders. Some set lawn chairs up in their yards and drank beer, cooked hot dogs and enjoyed what’s now become an almost decade-long tradition.
“This was excellent,” said Mike Szteliga, watching the parade go by from the lawn of his High Street home.
The parade kicked off at 1 p.m. from the Crocker Avenue School, making a left onto Montague Street, veering onto Turnpike Road and past Turners Falls High School, finally turning down Millers Falls Road past Scotty’s Convenience Store, completing a great circuit through Turners Falls neighborhoods.
Children shouted with joy as many of the paraders tossed fistfuls of candy to them.
“Where else can you be? Sitting in your front lawn watching a parade, and one people put a lot of effort into, too,” said Szteliga, while a Tim’s Barber Shop, Greenfield, truck rolled by, carrying waving workers and a life-sized Spiderman dummy.
It was a sea of colors.
A man dressed like the Hulk, with giant green fists, roared and waved. A child in an Iron Man costume darted from side to side. Fire departments from Gill and Montague showcased their older trucks.
Organizations like the Shriners drove tiny cars, while clowns laughed at onlookers and hopped up and down and Boy Scouts waved. Marching band members clashed their cymbals together and trumpeted their way down the street.
The event, free and open, was solely for the public’s benefit. However, many businesses, like Red Fire Farm, had workers driving massive tractors to advertise.
“This is great. We try and do it every year,” said Kathy Rimby, sitting in the bed of a Massachusetts Elks Association truck.
“My favorite part of doing this is when I throw the candy and all the kids go, ‘whoo,’” Rimby added. “I feel very much like we need more of this in the world.”
Local officials, like members of the Montague Selectboard, riding along in a golf cart, also participated.
Casey Pease, a University of Massachusetts student running to be the Massachusetts State Representative for the 1st Franklin District, campaigned and said hello to residents while marching down the road.
“We lucked out with the weather,” Pease said. “What a wonderful chance this is for the community.”
According to organizer and founder Michael Nelson, the Spring Parade this year was the biggest ever, with 47 groups or organizations participating.
Nelson said the parade is simply a way for the public to celebrate the coming of better weather.
“The spirit, the atmosphere was fantastic, we finally had some fantastic weather and this was the perfect time for people to get out and enjoy it,” Nelson said. “This celebrated the coming of summer.”
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.