MISSION — Texas Citrus Fiesta activities crescendoed Saturday with the annual Parade of Oranges in Mission, topping off with fanfare the city’s 90th anniversary celebrating the citrus industry in the Rio Grande Valley.
Police closed public roads leading to Conway Avenue where the parade would travel south and end on First Street.
Though the parade began on West Griffin Parkway, one could see the line of participating vehicles and floats stretching out north beyond 2 Mile Line Road.
Several local businesses closed for the day to avoid the traffic the parade may have created, but others that stayed open took advantage of the event as some attendees would visit local eateries like Stars on Conway Avenue and Peter Piper Pizza on 2 Mile Line.
Large crowds of people had set up their lawn chairs by the sidewalk, some brought blankets to sit under the shade on patches of grass, and others stood or parked their vehicles somewhere with a view.
Some of the best seats for the parade belonged to the seniors living in Wagon City South, a mobile home park for residents 55 years and older, who drove and parked their golf carts outside the neighborhood and watched the floats drive by.
Efrain Alejandro, 64, is one such resident who has lived at the mobile home park for about 15 years.
“We come out every year,” Alejandro said. “It’s his first one and he’s enjoying it.”
Alejandro gestured to his 3-year-old grandson, Alexander, who was playing on his grandfather’s golf cart as he waved at some of the parade’s floats.
Mission High and Veterans Memorial High Schools’ floats carrying their football teams, cheerleaders and other organizations, such as the Future Farmers of America and their student council, were just a couple of the many vehicles participating in the parade.
At the front of the line was a Mission Police Department vehicle which turned its sirens on to signal the beginning of the event.
Down the line were several duchesses from the Queen Citrianna coronation held Thursday evening, such as the Duchess of Sunshine and the Duchess of Mesquite.
Another float carried local band Los Sheekanos, who were playing an entire set and cheering as they drove down Conway.
Vicky Tobey, a 73-year-old winter visitor, watched the parade in her golf cart by the sidewalk with her daughter who was visiting from out of town.
Tobey has been visiting the Valley for about seven years now and out of those years she has witnessed five parades.
“I love it,” Tobey said. “The only time (I didn’t enjoy it) was when it was raining really hard and the gals had their flimsy dresses, so I felt bad for them.”
Fortunately, this year, despite the miserable weather the Valley had been experiencing the past couple of weeks, the weather was relatively cool, ranging from the low to mid 60s with plenty of sunshine.
One attendee was in a rush to get to the parade as her daughter was part of IDEA North Mission’s cheer team, which was participating in the parade.
“They gave us time but you know how it is with work,” 45-year-old Mission resident Natalia Hernandez-Rodriguez said with a laugh.
Hernandez-Rodriguez had to navigate the closed roads to figure out the best way to get her daughter to her float before the event had begun. The mother ended up parking her car elsewhere and walking her daughter to her post on time.
She watched from the sidelines as her daughter’s cheer team celebrated their time in the parade.
“I’ve been living in Mission for 10 years now and I’ve been watching the parade for those 10 years,” Hernandez-Rodriguez said in Spanish. “It’s all very beautiful and very well organized.
“It keeps getting bigger every year.”
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