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THE festival's grand parade has
come a long
way since it failed to impress crowds two years ago.
The parade was labeled an
embarrassment by businesses
and ratepayers in 2006 when the main event attracted a
huge crowd but lasted less than 20
minutes.
But this year's parade was
quite the
opposite.
Thousands of people got what
they bargained for when they
lined
the sides of Ford Street on
Saturday afternoon.
The parade lasted about an hour, with a lone horseman and
Aboriginal dancers leading musicians, dancers and about 40
floats
along the street.
Enthusiastic people on board the floats waved to excited onlookers,
including the Beechworth
Bakery team.
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Energetically led by bakery
founder Tom O'Toole, the team threw flour at the
crowd from
their impressive float.
It
resembled a kitchen, equipped with an old-style
oven made of bread and a work bench with
flour and
dough.
The oven took about 38 hours to make, with buns,
loaves and
Focaccias baked for the parade.
But the bakery team was not in
the running to win the best float competition,
since Mr. O'Toole was the
sponsor of the inaugural
Beechworth
Bakery trophy.
Indigo Council Mayor Vie Issell
had the tough job of choosing
the winner, but honored the
Old Priory's Sister Act float with the
trophy. |
