WEST BOYLSTON— A Grand Parade it truly was.

With something for everyone from tots to seniors, and lasting more than two and a half hours, the Bicentennial parade celebrated the town, its history, its businesses, and its local charities as groups traveled from as far as Pennsylvania to mark the occasion.

Attendees were entertained by more than a dozen musical groups, ranging from local group All Gone Wrong to the Joseph A. Ferko Mummers String Band to several marching bands, including the Clinton Middle School Band.

Countless cars and trucks, including antiques and Shriners’ mini-cars, were part of the parade as students from town schools carried banners that recognized area businesses that sponsored the parade.
 

“They really seemed to involve the community,” resident Tamera Bourque said. “I liked it that the Girl Scouts were carrying the signs.”

Recognizing the town’s beginnings, Aaron Goodale III and Aaron Goodale IV led off the parade as lifetime residents and descendants of the town’s founders.

The West Boylston Historical Society followed soon after, with its float decorated as a home would have looked at the time of the town’s founding. Later in the parade, a dump truck, similar to what was used to build the Wachusett Reservoir, reminded viewers of another aspect of the town’s history.

The West Boylston Arts Foundation poked fun at the reservoir with “Rezzie,” the monster that lives in the reservoir.

Gavin Tuomi, 2-1/2, stepped off the curb to chase down Elmo, but was afraid to hug him once he got close.

“Every time, he gets a little closer,” his mother Melissa Tuomi said. “He loves Elmo.”

Seventh-grader Noah McGinn liked the Shriners’ go-carts, especially when they followed a track up and over a Chevy Suburban. “I want one of those and one of their hats,” he said, referring to the Shriners’ fez.

The UMass at Amherst Marching Band, which performed at the post-parade party at Goodale Park, re-energized the crowd as it marched by just before the end of the parade.

“What a spectacular parade,” Donna Barthelemes said. “It was an incredible day.”