Wet and wild

PALMER — Mother Nature may have rained on the Colony Days Parade Saturday morning, but couldn’t douse the spirit of a city celebrating more than seven decades of Alaska history.

Diane Kaylor peered from beneath a blue tarp covering her booth at Colony Days, watching as a rain storm picked up intensity. The third-year vendor selling Cookie Lee Jewelry was waiting for the parade to end so she could see just how many people would brave the weather to take in the rest of the festival.

As the wind picked up and rain to blow sideways, Kaylor pulled side shields down to protect the products on her tables. So far, the crowds had been good to Kaylor.

“I’ve had more people this year as of yesterday,” she said.

But as the last float rolled through downtown Palmer, it was unclear just how many would deal with a soaking to have some fun.

Colony Days 2008 became a showcase of Alaska weather this weekend, with rain and cold temperatures casting a shadow over the mid-June event.

But Alaskans are hearty, and crowds of people jammed South Alaska Street in downtown Palmer to watch the parade before taking part in other Colony Days festivities. Many tourists took in the festival, too, some yelling out their home states and countries — Arizona, Texas, even China.

In an election year, local politics played a large part of this year’s Colony Days Parade.

State Senate candidate Linda Menard, Rep. Carl Gatto, R-Palmer, and congressional candidate Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell all had floats or handed out candy in the parade.

Standing near the end of the parade route, Wasilla resident Christy Kepler’s 3-year-old daughter, Azuray, watched as floats went by with her hood up to shield her from the rain. Azuray, who said she is proud to be turning 4 soon, was one of many children literally and figuratively eating up the candy handed out by passing floats.

Celebrating the arrival of farming Colonists around 1935, early Alaskans who came to the state well before it could even be called a state, are honored at Colony Days. With events like a car rally, kids games, carnival rides, live entertainment and more, Colony Days transforms downtown Palmer into a temporary amusement park.

But Saturday’s main attraction still seemed to be that time-honored tradition families just can’t seem to get enough of — the parade.

From fire trucks to off-road-vehicles, dogs on leashes to moms with strollers, the slow procession was a display of many sides of the Palmer community.

As the parade wound to a close, some stayed to visit the booths set up along South Valley Way. That’s good for Kaylor, whose booth was ready for jewelry lovers to take a gander.

But if there’s one change Taylor said has been for the better at more recent Colony Days, it’s the rides.

Set up in the Palmer Public Library parking lot, carnival rides awaited children and parents alike. Even as rain poured down, kids could be heard laughing and screaming, their faces soaked while they rode.

“It’s the rides that get more people here,” Kaylor said.

Contact Michael Rovito michael.rovito@frontiers-man.com or at 352-2252.