The Pioneer Days Parade flooded Main Street this morning with 146 float entries.

Mike Fast with the Community Relations Committee says their graduated fee system encouraged more people to pre-register, which helped with being able to better organize the day, rather than scrambling the day of with last minute entries, as in years past.

Fast notes there were only a couple minor hiccups, and the parade continued running smoothly.

"We had a few people that just couldn't get their vehicles started. We had a few people, because it was warm outside, overheat. And we had one guy that just couldn't start it at all, so we had to get him towed off the parade route. But everyone was in good spirits and we had everyone helping out around us, so it all worked out."

He says they had spotters at each intersection this year to help in closing gaps between floats to help minimize the length of the parade and keep an even flow of traffic.

Fast adds the parade seems to grow year after year with more and more community members coming out to line the streets and watch the floats go by. He says safety is their number one concern and priority, noting it was another year with a good safety record, which was excellent to see.

There were five award winning floats this year:
Best Theme: Steinbach Dodge
Historical Award: Friesen Drillers
Best Antique Float: Manitoba Transit Heritage Association
Best Animal Entrant: Birchwood Funeral Chapel
Judges Choice: The Lumberzone