Clovis High School Wildcat Marching Band (they are the soundtrack to the video!)
…I asked the little girl waiting to talk to me, “What do you like about the parade? Are you excited?”
She started nodding her head “yes” quickly, and yelled (probably to make sure I heard her), “I LIKE WHEN THEY THROW CANDY!” I laughed along with her and told her that, yes, I also like it when they throw candy during the parade.
The 50th Annual Pioneer Days celebration was held in June in Clovis, New Mexico, and the entire community turned out to celebrate the return of the Pioneer Days Parade downtown!
As many have noted, the 50th Anniversary Pioneer Days was delayed for two years due to the pandemic, but with the world reopening, Clovis pulled out the stops and had a three-day festival that took over the city.
“We are thrilled Pioneer Days is finally back, and we are even more excited to welcome the world to Clovis again!” said Ernie Kos, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce. “We may have had to wait two years, but we have the Pioneer Days Rodeo in full swing at the Event Center, we had a community breakfast introducing our Rodeo Royalty, and now we get to enjoy a great parade today.”
The mood downtown was celebratory. Families started lining the sides of the streets for an hour or two before the parade started. There were lawn chairs, people sitting in the back of vehicles, dogs, and, of course… kids.
While I was waiting for the parade to start, I chatted with a couple parents near me about what we might see in the parade. As we talked, I noticed their kids looking at me, and they looked like they had something important to say. My curiosity piqued, I asked the little girl waiting to talk to me, “What do you like about the parade? Are you excited?”
She started nodding her head “yes” quickly, and yelled (probably to make sure I heard her), “I LIKE WHEN THEY THROW CANDY!” I laughed along with her and told her that, yes, I also like it when they throw candy during the parade. She seemed satisfied that I truly understood what was important and ran off to play with her brother.
If he can take care of this beauty, he can probably take care of yours, too
Soon, we heard the Clovis High School Wildcat Marching Band start up, and the Air Force Color Guard started off the parade.
The parade had leaders, businesses and more from across Clovis, and… there was candy. Like every good parade, there were kids skittering into the streets to collect their prizes, and everyone was smiling.
The 50th Annual Pioneer Days might have had to wait two years to celebrate their 50th, but it seemed clear from the community response it was worth the wait.
Clovis HS Wildcat Marching Band