Fireman’s Carnival kicks off with pet parade
SAXONBURG — Over a dozen pets and their owners marched down Main Street as part of the annual Pet Parade on Tuesday, June 24, which served as the curtain-raiser for the borough’s 94th annual fireman’s carnival.
This year, the entries extended well beyond the usual household pets.
“There’s a potbellied pig. We have horses. We have donkeys. There are chickens,” said event volunteer Sarah Smith.
The parade was preceded by a “blessing of the pets” led by Jeannine Sanford of St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Saxonburg.
Owing largely to a heat wave which continued on Tuesday evening, the entry list was considerably shorter than usual, with only 15 entries this year compared to over 60 last year.
“It was a light year with it being so hot,” Smith said.
Nevertheless, the entries that did participate stood out for their creativity and themes, as most of those who brought pets to the parade came dressed in elaborate costumes — and dressed their pets to match.
One such entry was the Moore family — Keith, Lauren, Brian and Robby — who came dressed as hot dog vendors. They brought their basset hound, Murphy, who came dressed as a hot dog, along with their two chickens, Block Block and Red Robin.
“The theme is the ‘Parade Special.’ $2.50 for a hot dog and nuggets,” Keith Moore said.
“If you think of the Fourth of July, what’s the most common food that comes to mind? Hot dogs and nuggets,” Brian Moore said.
Another unique spectacle was the “Shark Week”-themed entry featuring Miles the potbellied pig, owned by the Speer family. Brittany, Zachary, and Ellie Speer all came dressed as the “Baby Shark,” while family friend Alyssa Kunicki accompanied them portraying one of the shark’s bite “victims,” dressed in a white shirt covered in fake blood.
“My daughter loves ‘Baby Shark,’ so we thought it would be good to do a twist on the ‘Baby Shark’ and ‘Shark Week,’” Brittany said.
The group of Alex Gigler, Kailee Furgiuele, and Garrett and Evelyn Bylinowski brought a tropical-themed entry, inspired by the Disney film “Moana,” centered around their pet rottweiler and chicken.
“Since it was a summer theme, we thought we’d go with the beach in ‘Moana,’ with the chicken on the boat in the movie,” Gigler said. “We thought it’d be a good idea.”
A team of three judges decided which of the 15 entries were the best in six different groups. According to Smith, the categories were slightly tweaked for this year’s parade.
“We have Best Group, Most Exotic, Favorite Farm Animal, Favorite Feline, Favorite Canine and then we have a Best in Show,” Smith said.
Winners of each of the awards will receive certificates from local businesses, including Kiki & Lolo’s Ice Cream and Saxonburg Feed Company — the latter of whom led the parade with a beach party-themed float.
The winner of the “best in show” award will be invited to march again in the centerpiece event of the Fireman’s Carnival week — the Fireman’s Parade on Thursday night, June 26.
The winning entry turned out to be the “Moana”-themed entry of Gigler, Furgiuele, and Bylinowski.
Meanwhile, the Speer family took home the “best group” award, while the Moore family took home “best canine” with their hot dog stand.
