Celebration in Shabbona: Parade, events highlight Fourth of July festivities

Gage Oleson thinks that the parade that passed through downtown Shabbona on Saturday is even better than Halloween. The 5-year-old didn't have to dress up and he didn't even have to go from door to door. All he had to do was stand along the street in front of a relative's house, clutching a plastic bag, and wait to be showered with Tootsie Rolls, candy corn and licorice. All types of candy were thrown from the passing floats taking part Saturday in the annual parade, which is part of the 2008 Shabbona Hometown Festival, the village's annual Fourth of July celebration. About 30 floats, firetrucks, convertibles and even two llamas lined up in the parking lot at Indian Creek High School on Saturday morning before making their way through town. The festival also featured fireworks over Shabbona Lake on Friday, and an ice cream eating contest, water fights and a hog raffle on Saturday. “It's all about the community,” said Wendy Dempsay, who was watching the parade with Gage and several other children. The theme of this year's festival, “Sowing the Seeds of Friendship” was submitted by Indian Creek High School student Savannah Stanley and could be seen displayed on some floats. The Elementary Parent Club's float, made by children and members of the EPC, was decked out in green grass, hay bales and a bright cut-out sun. Eager to begin throwing candy for the parade-goers, 12 children sat perched on hay bales practicing their wave before the parade began. “The kids love it,” said David Newman, the vice president of EPC. “It's a lot of fun and it helps people in town realize that we have this organization.” Gene and Kathy Kokot, who recently moved from a small town in Louisiana to Shabbona, found prime seats in the shade along the parade route. The two have already had a chance to meet some of the local residents and enjoyed seeing some of their new friends in the parade. “The small-town atmosphere is great,” Gene said. “It's a good way to get to know the town even more.” The parade wound its way through the village, past the Shabbona Healthcare Center through the neighborhoods and across the railroad tracks - even being split up once as a train chugged through town. Eventually it ended back at the high school, with Tom Gogol's llamas back into their trailer after being too tired to complete the route. The Fourth of July festival wraps up on Sunday with a classic car show at Screamers Ice Cream and “Rock and Roll Wrestling” in the beer gardens at Nitecrawler's Bar & Grill.