Hopkinton NY Field Days - Part 2

The Hopkinton Field Days Parade was mostly fire trucks (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) from all the surrounding towns and hamlets. This one was from West Stockholm, NY:

JWJ Custom Kitchens:

St. Regis Falls:

The banner on this float said "Nicholville Rec Committee" and was full of children (and one little dog, being carried). I'm guessing it's the town's summer recreation program for kids:

The Girl Scout troop:

And.......um, what is this?

It turned out to be the Hopkinton Historical Group and included a fiddler, livening up the parade with historic tunes:

This was a mystery to me. The little wagon had cushions in it but no riders or displays. Maybe his kids were planning to ride in the wagon but then backed out:

More fire trucks, this one from Norwood, NY:

This retired fire truck appears in all the local parades and is for breast cancer awareness:

Even the "big" village of Potsdam was represented:

The parade always ends with horses, placed last so no marchers accidentally step in horse manure. There were only two horses this time, one of them my neighbor who carried a sign for suicide awareness:

Hopkinton NY Field Days - Part 1

If you are driving along Route 11B and pass this shady town green, you may stop and have a picnic there. It's an inviting place indeed, and where I parked in order to watch the 2018 Hopkinton Field Days Parade. The big sign on the left announces the town's 200th anniversary. Unfortunately, that was in 2002, so it's time to replace it. The smaller sign commemorates the raid of 1814, when British troops seized 300 barrels of flour which were stored in the barns of Col. Hopkins:

I walked across the highway and found a comfortable lawn with shade. From there I could see Wilber's Hardware Store, a handy place to find nearly anything you need when something breaks:

And a historic house, one of the original homes from the early settlers. Of course it's been updated in the years since:


And then the parade began with the American Legion:

They were followed by fire trucks and ambulances from many surrounding towns and hamlets. The first was from Hopkinton itself (Fort Jackson is part of Hopkinton):

Parishville, NY:

And this was a mystery. I think the sign read, "I'm the future dentist." I don't know what it meant either:

And then the fire trucks continued, this one from Nicholville:

And from Morley:

And this float, a taste of chilly winter on that hot day. Their tee shirts said "Polar Blast" and they were passing out bottles of cold water:

And the fire trucks continued. This one was from North Lawrence, home of the yogurt factory:

And from Lawrenceville. There were sure a lot of fire trucks, but I deemed that a good thing, a sign that all the local communities supported each other. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Canton Summer Festival In The Park

I'd looked forward to Canton's Dairy Princess Parade for a whole year and the big day arrived. It was a hot, sunny Saturday and just right for the festivities in the park. Venders were set up beneath the trees and most tried to pay homage to the dairy theme in some way, even if only with a small, inflatable cow:

The actual parade was more than hour away so I enjoyed strolling through the shady park, watching the people and the bright colors:

This grandmother was trying to get her terrified granddaughter to have her picture taken with the big cow-person. The little girl cried and refused, so grandma demonstrated how easy it was:

There were balloons and ice cream:

Bouncy-Bounce castles and other attractions:

This vendor was selling hand crafted bird houses:

There were calves for petting:

And goats who actually begged for attention:

The fountain was filled with rubber ducks:

One could buy just about anything there that day:

Hot dogs, hamburger, french fries:

A Christian summer camp from near me set up a dunking booth and it was a huge hit. Hitting the target and dunking the victim must have been rather easy because each victim dropped into the water so often that they had to take turns. You can see one boy sliding into the tank while another boy shivers, wrapped in a blue blanket. But everyone was having fun. The time soon came for the parade to start, so I walked away from the park and through the town of Canton to see the parade near its starting point. But I'll post about that tomorrow: