Grand Marshal

The 2008 Garrard County Rural Heritage Festival parade will be held Saturday, Sept. 13 in Lancaster. The theme for the parade is "Youthful Reflections of our Proud Heritage. " The grand marshal for the parade is Henry West, long-time Garrard County farmer and agricultural activitist. The deputy parade marshal is Josh Duncan, Garrard's very own local ambassador of good will and sunshine. We are looking for organizations, groups, businesses or individuals to participate with floats, antique or classic cars or tractors and horses.

The annual Labor Day parade will take place on Monday in downtown Winchester. Christine Gay has been selected as this year's Labor Day parade grand marshal. Gay is the wife of the late Eugene "Gene" Gay and serves as a musician at Broadway Baptist Church. She is also a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and an active member of the Winchester community.

At the University of Kentucky Children's Hospital on the fourth floor inside room 468 resides a 12-year-old with the one of the sweetest smiles you'll ever encounter and one of the most outgoing personalities you'd ever meet. On April 8, Trystan Jackson was diagnosed with a very rare type of bone cancer called Osteosarcoma, and he has been undergoing intense chemotherapy ever since. Trystan, who will serve as grand marshal for the 2008 Jessamine County Relay for Life, is a classic little boy; he is a New York Yankees fan and loves hogging the computer from his mom to play video games online.

Santa Claus will temporarily forsake his traditional sleigh and reindeer for a stretch limo on Saturday, Dec. 1, when he hopes to visit with all the the children and will serve as grand marshal of the town's Christmas parade. Mr. Claus will arrive with his typical flamboyance at 4:30 p.m. at the parking garage on Main Street and greet children there. The parade will begin at 6 p.m. and include floats, movers and shakers riding in fancy cars, and, midway through, the crowning of the Snow Court candidates, who will be featured next week in The Interior Journal.

The Jessamine Jamboree Parade returned and was a "lights-out" success. After a hiatus of several years, the parade was back, as more than 100 people and 30 floats participated in the much anticipated event. My personal parade highlight was Jessamine County Magistrate Duane McCuddy pushing his car up the incline near the public library. Later that day, a sweat-drenched McCuddy informed me vapor lock forced such drastic measures. Kudos also go to Brad Freeman and his supporters.

PERRYVILLE - A Boyle County serviceman, who has spent his career with the military, will be grand marshal for the parade Saturday at the downtown commemoration of the Battle of Perryville. Brig. Gen. Howard P. Hunt III will be grand marshal of the parade that will begin 10 a.m. Hunt is a veteran and deputy adjutant general for the Kentucky Air National Guard. He will ride in a horse-drawn carriage in the parade. The parade line-up will be 9 a.m. at Perryville Elementary School.

Hannah Mae Rector, winner of the recent Winchester SuperStar competition, will be grand marshal of the annual Christmas parade. Plans for the parade, scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, were made at the Sept. 11 meeting held at City Hall. The theme of the parade will be is the 12 Days of Christmas. Tentative plans call for Brian Thomas and David Hunt to serve as emcees. The parade is being organized by The Christmas Parade Committee and the Winchester First Promotions Committee.

PIONEERFESTIVAL WINCHESTER - Join in this Labor Day weekend to celebrate the 29th annual Daniel Boone Pioneer Festival. Activities include a street dance on Friday evening featuring The Cabin Creek Band, Logan Leet and Inception. Other activities include a 5K Run/Walk with Friends, talent contest, arts, crafts, antiques, appraisals, food vendors and paint ball. Don't miss the Sunday evening concert at Lykins Park featuring country music artist Rodney Atkins. The CMT Cross Country Truck will be there for the first time this year, so come on out and be a CMT star.

"Preserving the Future: Children Are Our Goal" is the theme of the annual Labor Day Parade scheduled through downtown Winchester at noon Monday, Sept. 3. The parade will form on West Broadway and travel south on Maple Street, east on Lexington Avenue, north on Main Street and west on Washington Street before disbanding at the intersection of Oliver Street. According to Flora Shelby, Labor Day Committe chairman, the Labor Day Queen will be crowned immediately prior to the start of the parade.