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Mason County Forest Festival’s Paul Bunyan Parade

Each year, since 1945, the Paul Bunyan Parade is held in Shelton, Washington, as part of the Mason County Forrest Festival. The parade theme for 2013 was "Enchanted Forest." As part of a local R/C club, I participate in putting together a float for the parade. The parade also gives me a wonderful opportunity to talk with other participants and take some images with my digital camera.

I am always at the parade's staging area early. After the float is ready, I do a walkabout in order to watch others prepare for the parade and to capture some images: I love looking behind the stage, as it were.

The Paul Bunyan parade celebrates Shelton's forest-related history. The parade is, to this day, also a family oriented event. School bands, youth organizations (like 4-H and boy/girl scouts) are represented in the parade and the spectators include children of all ages. Of course, war veterans are always honored at the front of the parade. For an old-time, small-town parade, it's hard to beat Shelton's Paul Bunyan Parade.

I hope you enjoy this gallery of images as much as I enjoyed capturing them.