Participants of the 65th Annual Shoemakersville Children’s Parade have been asked to embrace this year’s theme #ShoeyStrong.
“We ask that people embrace the theme,” Shilpa Moser, Shoemakersville recreation board president, said. “It means strength. If it’s God or superheroes, what makes you strong?”
“Whatever makes you want to get in and fight,” Brieane Botwright, board member, added.
The theme was chosen in recognition of Grand Marshall Warren Fleischel, who is active in many Shoemakersville activities, including baseball, pool and church events. He has also fought a personal battle with cancer.
T-shirts displaying the theme will be available for sale on June 4. Moser noted this year’s shirts feature a bright, tie-dye design.
The parade will wind through the streets of Shoemakersville on Saturday, June 4. The 2016 parade will begin at 11 a.m. and be immediately followed by a Children’s Fair in the Shoemakersville Park, located on 8th Street. All proceeds will benefit local park programs.\\
Area groups expected to participate in the 2016 parade include the Hamburg Area High School marching band, the Lion’s Club, the Shoey Baseball Association and Boy Scout Troop 160. Smokey the Bear is also planning to walk the route, and local residents often join in the parade, pushing babies in strollers. It is free to participate.
The parade will start at the corner of 8th and Park streets and take Main Street to 4th Street. After circling Perry Elementary School, the procession will turn left on Chestnut Street and go up 8th street back to the park.
The children’s fair, including games and vendors, will begin in the park immediately after the parade and last until 4 p.m. that afternoon. Live entertainment, delicious foods and activities including a rock-climbing wall and bungee jump, are planned. Also on the schedule is a white balloon launch.
“People can purchase a balloon and write a message on it,” Moser explained.
Botwright added, “They can even write a wish if they want.”
Fair attendees can bid on over 50 items in a Chinese Auction, featuring six bikes, a tradition for the event. Other auction items include a television, Fitbit, Vera Bradley bag and gift certificates. The Appalachian Petting Zoo will be at the fair, and the event will also include quality hand-craft vendors, Moser said.
She explained that most fair activities are offered at low prices.
“Because it is a children’s fair, we always gear the prices so that the children can participate in everything,” Moser said. “This event is more about bringing the community together.”
Still, she said, the fair is a big fundraiser for the Shoey Park Program. This program runs June 13 to August 5 and is offered free of charge to children ages eight to 16. The children enjoy daily tournaments, crafts and games. They also swim in the Shoey pool on Wednesday afternoons free of charge. The pool opened for public use on Saturday, May 28.
Joining Moser and Botwright on the Shoemakersville Recreation Board are members Jennifer Adams, Kristi Hartman, and Tara Kennedy Kline. Also assisting are Children’s Fair Association members Amy Botwright, Allison Haines, Andrew Raugh and Brian Herbert.
To prepare for the fair, volunteers gathered at the park on Sunday, May 22. About 12 people, including adults and children, set to work picking up trash and polishing equipment.
For more information on summer programs, the Shoey pool or to register in advance for the Children’s Fair and Parade, contact the Shomakersville Borough Office at 610-562-8030. Participants may also register for the parade the day of the event, beginning at 10 a.m. Preregistration for the park program will be Monday, June 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the park.
In case of bad weather, a rain date for the parade is set for Sunday, June 5, at noon.