Hippity, hoppity, the Snohomish Easter Parade’s on its way Jared M. Burns photo

SNOHOMISH — It’s almost time to hop over to the Easter Parade.
The Easter Bunny will join more than 50 floats, bands, ROTC drill teams and dance troupes in this special small-town tradition complete with iconic bonnets. The usual favorites, such as the Seafair Pirates, are expected to be part of the show, too.
The parade kicks off at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 16 on First Street.
A free bonnet contest comes alive soon after that last float crosses Avenue D. Everybody can come wearing their best springtime hat. Some decorate their pets big and small; someone brought a calf around 10 years ago.
This is the parade’s 40th edition. The first parade rolled in 1981, but the coronavirus just couldn’t let the 2020 or 2021 parades gather.
Pent-up demand to celebrate could mean a big turnout.
Snohomish Chamber of Commerce manager Nancy Keith thinks so.
“I’m so thrilled, the community is so thrilled, we have just gotten such a positive response that it’s back,” Keith said. “The response has been astronomical.”
Keith noted that for the dance and drill team troupes, this is their time to shine after two years of not being able to take part.
High school volunteers are sewing it all together. Keith’s phone rang constantly late last week as entry deadline was Thursday.
This is Keith’s first time managing an Easter Parade; Pam Schilaty retired a couple years ago. “It’s a little bit of a science to put this all together,” Keith said.
The parade brings upwards of 3,000 people to Snohomish by an informal count, Schilaty told the Tribune in 2019.
The free Easter bonnet contest is organized by Midnight Cry Church.
Girl Scout Service Unit 223 will be in force cleaning up afterward. First Street reopens that afternoon.
Come early to get a prime seat.
See next week’s Tribune for a list
of area Easter Egg hunts!