Parade draws large crowd
SAXONBURG — It's not every day you see a skunk strutting its stuff on Main Street in Saxonburg. In daylight. On a leash of artificial flowers.
Or a red-eared slider turtle relaxing to summer music in a turtle bay-themed float.
Or a feisty pigmy goat dressed up as a hot dog and led by a person-sized ketchup bottle.
It's weird. It's wonderful. It's the pet parade, a borough tradition that draws hundreds of spectators, and generation upon generation of animal owners who say there's just something about helping celebrate the beginning of the weeklong Saxonburg VFC Fireman's Carnival.
“I've never heard of a sleepy little town doing anything like this,” said Mayor Pamela Bauman, who also helped judge Monday's parade. “But it is something that makes us Saxonburg. There's always been a pet parade.”
It's never the same parade twice, though.
Nicole Stull of Saxonburg and her family usually walk with their dogs. But this year, four years into the family's experiment of trying to be self-sufficient and grow all their own food, Stull decided to walk with Pidge the chicken, a 3-month-old turkey, and six 6-week-old ducklings.
“We decided we wanted to show people what we're up to,” Stull said.
The family pulled the animals in a wagon equipped with gallons of ready-to-pump drinking water.
Doris Martynuska of Slippery Rock was showing off what many considered to be a pet parade first: 11-week-old Ozzy the striped skunk.
Martynuska said she got Ozzy on a whim from a breeder in Bloomsburg and has been amazed at his intelligence and affection for her pet Boxer, which she normally shows off at pet parade time.
“He has the run of the house,” Martynuska said of Ozzy, noting that skunks make up for their poor eyesight with an acute sense of smell.
“He follows me everywhere,” she said.From the small to the fairly large, Monday's pet showcase had a bit of everything.Ava Hamm of Sarver, riding her haflinger horse, Katie, and Hayden Bandi of Saxonburg, on Ralphie the donkey, were among owners showing off the some of the largest pets.The girls said they were excited to get a chance to ride their animals down Main Street.“It's like the only time we get to have fun and ride here ever,” Hamm said.Other pet owners said parade spectators might not get to see it first-hand, but their companions have special talents that get shown off from time to time.Rosie Mead of Butler said her toy poodle, Frank, which was decked out as a cowboy, has a talent for singing along with organ music played by her grandfather.And Lindsey Mack and her brother, John, of Renfrew, said they're convinced that their turtle, Shelly, is a dancer at heart.'If we turn music on, we think we can make her dance,” John said. “She really will.”Talented or not, said Jayme Steighner, coming together with other pet owners and celebrating the start of Carnival Week is something she wants to pass down to her children.The family was walking the rambunctious, 2-year-old golden doodles Crosby and Barkley on Monday, which reminded Steighner of her own childhood.“It was fun as a kid, and I wanted my kids to experience it too,” Steighner said. “I just think it brings the community together in a fun way.”Brandon McCarthy, a Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company board member and the parade organizer, said the company's decision to move the carnival to July resulted in one of the largest crowds he's ever seen.Residents and visitors packed Main Street to watch the 112 parade entries strut their stuff.“It's for sure one of the biggest years we've had in a long time,” McCarthy said.The carnival continues through Saturday night.
