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T

he Croaker ruled at the 30th Annual Croaker Festival Parade. The fish was depicted with, among other things, balloons, and as a stuffed animal. Tribute was paid by mermaids, fishermen and even Neptune.

Spinnaker Point Homeowners Association netted a balloon croaker — composed of 200 balloons — and took it along the parade route. The Spinnaker Point Neptune Float, which followed the fish, won the Grand Poo-Bah award. All those balloons made one wonder: what would a Croaker sound like after inhaling helium?

Most dragons — Oriental’s other town mascot — seemed to stay away from this year’s Croaker Festival parade. Perhaps they were giving the humble croaker — also known as the “American Grumbler” for the noise it makes — its day in the sun.

Neptune and his mermaid court.

This year’s Croakerfest parade grand marshals were a dozen women who, in 1980, were part of the Oriental Junior Woman’s Club when it organized the first Croaker Festival. (Many of those “Juniors” eventually formed Ladies of the Neuse which this year awarded trophies in 11 categories. (List of the winners follows our 8 pages of photos.)

This year’s Grand Marshals were the originators of the Croaker Festival. Thirty years ago, the Oriental Junior Woman’s Club organized the first Croaker Festival. A dozen members from that 1980 group rode the float this year.

Parademeister Paul Fairbank, who has organized the parades in recent years, says there were more than 100 entries for this 30th Croaker Parade. For participants and parade-goers alike, the weather cooperated in a big way. Temperatures were in barely in the 80’s, which compared favorably to last year’s 100 degree swelter.

Just before the parade, John Bond made some last-minute adjustments to his golf cart float which celebrated 30 years of croaker-dom.

Fay Bond rode her bike in the parade, wearing the dress her mother, Irma Midyette, wore at the first Croaker parade 30 years ago. Fay and her husband John Bond shared honors for Best Theme Interpretation. On the handlebars of her bike, she displayed a photo of Miss Irma wearing the dress.

Taylor Buck was one of the contestants in the Miss Minnow contest — open to 3-5 year old girls. She had the royal wave down pat.

It’s all in the wrist..

Bill Sternberg and John Kyak, aka Frick and Frack, built this dragon for the parade. Dragons, normally in abundance at the Croaker Parade, were in short supply this year, perhaps letting the lowly fish have all the attention on this 30th anniversary. They get the TownDock award for most folk-art dragon.

See next pages for more photos.

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Posted Monday July 5, 2010 by Melinda Penkava

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