Beautiful weather, performing bands and screaming sirens welcomed a huge crowd to Montevallo on Saturday, Oct. 7.

The annual Fire Parade began at 10 o&8217;clock, was followed by a barbeque lunch in the park, the Rotary Club&8217;s duck race and the elementary school PTA&8217;s Fall Festival.

There seems to be some confusion as to exactly how many fire parades there have been, but Chief Bill Reid reports, &8220;The first one I recall was 1975 – so if that&8217;s the case, this would be the 32nd.&8221;

He and Danny Gothard, parade chairman, were extremely pleased with the turnout and the day.

There were thirty-six fire departments represented with fifty vehicles from fire departments as far away as Selma.

The parade was led by the Montevallo High School Marching Troubadours, the Grand Marshall Police Chief Kevin Peters and the city&8217;s Mayor and City Council.

Montevallo&8217;s fire department demonstrated the capabilities of their new fire truck by raising the manned platform ladder 103 feet. School children, cheerleaders and scouts rode the fire trucks throwing candy out to the spectators. The parade ended in Orr Park where the participants were served chicken barbeque with all the &8220;fixins.&8221;

Girl Scouts carried banners in the parade – Follow Me – leading to the Fall Frolic in the park.

This third annual celebration was proclaimed a spectacular success by PTA President Paula Renzi-Callaghan. There were many things to entertain the children – inflatable slides, moon bounces, a jostling ring and the favorite victory lap patterned after the Talladega car races.

Many children chose the face painting and tattoos.

There were also free games with free prizes.

For the hungry there was soup along with drinks and baked goods. The Montevallo Community Band added to the festivities with a lively outdoor concert.

Ms. Renzi-Callaghan

said, &8220;We were very pleased at the increase in parent involvement, teacher visibility and community support that was shown on Saturday at the event.&8221;

The Rotary Club&8217;s annual duck race featured almost 200 rubber ducks.

Children followed the rubber ducks down the creek cheering them on and loudly protesting as some were caught in the water plants along the banks. The winning duck that captured the $500 prize belonged to Micah and Leah Allen.

Ben McCrory, President of the Chamber of Commerce, commented that he was very pleased with the whole day and that the celebration was a wonderful example of Montevallo&8217;s fine community spirit