KINGSTON— Kingston High School will show its community spirit, marching at the annual Kingston Fourth of July parade.
Students and staff members are expected dress in Buccaneers (the school mascot) garb as KHS introduces themselves to the entire community during a historical celebration. The parade is expected to begin between noon and 12:30 p.m.
Kingston Fourth of July parade organizer Bev Pierce is a big fan of one of the most prestigious parades on the West Coast.
“This parade has been happening for more than 100 years,” she said. “It’s the longest running Fourth of July parade in the state of Washington. I’ve heard that it’s the longest running parade west of the Mississippi. Kingston definitely loves its parade. They take it very seriously.”
Pierce said she’s thrilled the new school will participate in the parade festivities.
“There’s going to be a large contingent of Kingston High School students and staff members in the parade,” she said. “Each different group at the school will be represented. I am looking forward to having the new high school involved in the parade this year.”
The KHS group will stage in the parking lot behind the Bradley Building at the corner of State Highway 104 and Lindvog Way. Staging will begin at 11:15 a.m. in preparation for the afternoon parade.
KHS parade volunteer and band booster Colette Wilson is ecstatic the town’s first high school of its own will be participating in the parade.
“Our entire school will be represented,” she said. “There’s going to be 39 different groups made up of staff and students from KHS.”
Wilson said the KHS section will clearly be visible to patrons attending the festivities.
“People in the parade will hold up signs identifying what part of the high school they will be in,” she said. “The idea is to get every single group in the school represented. “We’ll march behind a banner at the front of our group entry introducing Kingston High School. We will also carry individual signs highlighting the many groups of our school community.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, there was a confirmed 100 participants connected to KHS registered for the parade.
“I expect way more than 100 to show up,” she said. “We will get more people registered as the parade gets closer.”
Wilson is encouraging KHS students/staff members to come dressed in Buccaneers traditional garb. In addition, she asks those interested in participating with the KHS section during the parade to e-mail her at parade@khsbb.org to let them know how many people will be coming. RSVP for this event is required.
The Kingston Junior High marching band will unveil also its final performance of the school’s illustrious career during the parade.
“It’s bittersweet because it will be the final performance in the history of our school,” KJH band director Jeff Haag said. “It’s the end of an era. It’s a fun parade, and there isn’t that much pressure. It’s pretty relaxed. Between 80-85 students from the KJH band will be participating because a lot of students are on summer vacations.”
Haag said he’s looking forward to seeing the Kingston Buccaneers stroll through the parade.
“It will be awesome to see the kids that will be going to Kingston High School walking through,” he said. “It’s a chance to celebrate with the community in a festive atmosphere.”
