It's time for the 61st annual Sunfair Parade in downtown Yakima on Saturday, September 24. The parade starts at 10:00 am and follows the same route starting at the corner of 16th and Yakima Ave and winding its way down Yakima Avenue to Naches Avenue.

The Sunfair Parade board selected a special person to be the Grand Marshal

Verlynn Best, the President and CEO of the Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce has been named the Grand Marshal of the parade. Best was selected by the Sunfair Parade board because of her dedication to the people and businesses of Yakima.
“When I moved here eight years ago, Verlynn was one of the first people who welcomed me. Since then, I have been amazed by her tenacity. She is the kind of focused leader that any town would be lucky to have. We are better as a city with her in it” says Paul Crawford, President of the 2022 Sunfair Parade board.

A lot of people are expected to attend the parade on Saturday morning

The organizers are hoping thousands of people show up to watch the parade along Yakima Avenue. This year's parade is being sponsored by Yakima Federal Savings and Loan the local bank that has stepped up to fund a number of community events including Yakima's big 4th of July celebration.

The parade has been around for many decades

The parade has a long history. A press release says it was first started in 1961 as part of a Sunfair, sponsored by the Yakima Sundusters, a promotional group of the Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce.
In 1972, the parade was moved to September to coincide with the opening of the Central Washington State Fair.
The fair starts on Friday, September 22 with gates opening at 12:00 pm at Yakima's State Fair Park.

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