Do you feel the beat of the drums?

Here come the bands, the drill teams, and cute kids in costume and much more! Summer is fast approaching and soon a long time Wallingford tradition will be here. The Wallingford Parade, a Seafair event, will be held on Saturday, July 13th starting at 11 a.m. and will start at N. 45th and Bagley, head west to Interlake, then south. This event harks to the beginning of Seafair in the early 1950s and is now in its 7th decade. The theme for 2024 is “Be a Hero” offering lots of inspiration for dressing up.

Parades are an American tradition, a symbol of our community history and culture and evokes a feeling of excitement and celebration. This parade offers the entire community the opportunity to join in the fun—to participate, build a float, walk with family or a neighborhood group and watch and have fun. It is a good time to show off your school, or your special skill.

The pandemic forced a three-year hiatus, and fortunately the Wallingford Parade successfully reappeared in 2023 with some great talents, unicyclists, The Seattle All City Band, UW Alumni Band martial arts, floats, several great drill team and drum corps, clowns, cute kids and more! The community support was felt with the sponsorships from several Wallingford businesses. Hats are off to Dunn Lumber, Bedrooms & More, Cedarhouse Flowers, QFC, Silver Tray Thai, Harold’s Lamps, CVS, Dicks Drive In, The Wallingford Community Council, Archie McFee, Luna Kitchen & Bath for their generous sponsorship in 2023. Several sponsors have stepped up for 2024, you can too!

The parade is produced by Celebrate Wallingford, a 501 c 3 organization. Blake Garfield of Bedrooms & More has taken the helm along with previous Wallingford Chamber of Commerce participants Kathy Baron and Stephen Finkenscher, are the officials in charge supported by a cadre of volunteers. Would you like to be involved? New Board members are being sought to help keep this Wallingford tradition going! Community involvement is a must to keep this cherished tradition alive. Volunteers are needed for July 13th. Students—get a start on your community volunteer hour requirement! To sign up to participate, volunteer or sponsor, check out the website www.celebratewallingfordwa.org and join the fun. If you can’t participate in the parade, please plan to come watch and invite your friends and family too!