‘Full of spirit and fun.’ Folsom Hometown Parade draws record crowd, attendees
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- Folsom's 2025 Hometown Parade featured a record 79 entries and large turnout.
- Community groups, musicians and local businesses energized four blocks of Sutter St.
- Parade centered on youth involvement, civic pride and historic district heritage.
Megan Demmel, 41, vividly remembers performing as a baton twirler in a local parade when she was younger. She described walking down the streets and performing her tricks as her “star moment.”
Now, in her first year as the parade coordinator for the Historic Folsom Hometown Parade, Demmel said she was focused on bringing the community together in the city’s Historic District and giving others that chance.
“I love having kids in our entries ... because you always remember, until you’re an adult, that moment you were in a parade,” Demmel said. “I had my star moment. I want to give everyone in our community that opportunity.”
Demmel said the parade, which held its eighth iteration on Saturday, had a record 79 entries, including floats, cars, walking groups and even a stilted Uncle Sam. While she didn’t have an estimate for the total number of attendees, Demmel said there were “the most there have been in a very long time.”
The parade kicked off around 9:30 a.m. and took over four blocks of Sutter Street lined with community members and families, lasting until about 11 a.m.
A farmer’s market was also held throughout the morning and multiple businesses on Sutter Street sponsored musicians and other activities during the parade.
‘A safe, family-friendly event’
As the parade was about to begin at the intersection of Sutter and Scott streets, 5-year-old Brooklyn Pavo sat in a chair near the starting point and waited in anticipation.
Pavo mentioned two things she was excited about: seeing the many American Flags that lined the streets and the free goodies and candies many of the parade participants handed out.
Brooklyn’s mother, Melissa Pavo, a 37-year-old resident of nearby Granite Bay, said she has brought her kids to the parade every year since they moved to the area and said it always has a strong “small, hometown feel,” which she enjoys.
“It gives them something to look forward to,” Melissa Pavo said. “They love the music. They love the lights on the trucks. They enjoyed the Disney Princesses on the back of a float.”
Demmel said families and young children are common attendees of the event, which also kicks off the city’s Fourth of July festivities. She said the organizers intentionally scheduled the parade in the morning so the heat wouldn’t be too much for young kids, though temperatures hit the high-80s by the event’s end on Saturday.
“I love seeing the kids in their red, white and blue, and it is very typical of them because they know it’s a safe, family friendly event,” Demmel said. “It’s just a perfect place to bring the kids.”
Historic District inspires parade
Jenna Halsey, 37, also attended the parade with her family, many of whom sported American flag-related clothing as they sat on chairs near the end of the street. Halsey said she often brings her kids to the Historic Parade as well as other activities held in the district, including the annual Christmas tree lighting event in December.
“Our kids, they love it,” Halsey said.
While parade entries varied greatly -- including a Ghostbusters-inspired van equipped with proton blasters, a group of Disney princesses as well as local police, firefighters and politicians -- Demmel said the Historic District, which was created in the 1850s, is the “heart” of the community.
“We in Historic Folsom have a wonderful group of people who regularly dress up in old gear,” Demmel said. “That group is the heart of our district, because they keep the history alive here.”
‘There was always something going on’
Retro fire engines and police vehicles took part in the parade alongside various groups on horseback or dressed in old-timey clothing. Many local businesses and non-profit organizations also created entries and different forms of music, from marching bands to a singer who previously worked with Toby Keith.
“You want to make sure that our audience is captured the entire time,” Demmel said. “From talking to a few people coming up to me afterwards, they said that they were entertaining the whole time, and that was my goal — no one had a moment of just looking around. There was always something going on.”
Joel Swanson, an 18-year-old member of the Folsom High School marching band, said the band had never joined the parade before, but its members had a good time performing in front of the crowd.
The event was a first for Swanson, who said he thought it was a “really cool” way to bring the community together.
“You see how close of a community Folsom has, and then you have so many different people from all walks of life that are all coming out from gathering just to celebrate the history of the city,” Swanson said.
A group of performers called the Shady Ladies Saloon, comprised of roughly 20 “tight, tight girlfriends,” according to member Mary Lou Strauss, has been around for more than 30 years.
While the saloon is not real, the camaraderie among group members is, she said. At the parade, members donned their “saloon clothing” and waved at the attendees while on the back of a vehicle.
“It’s just sweet, and it’s full of spirit and fun,” said Linda McMahon, another member of the Shady Ladies. “We do it because we love our town.”
Both McMahon and Strauss said their group will definitely be back next year, and Demmel, the parade coordinator, said she already has ideas for next year..
“I’ve already got a couple entries that said to me after the parade, they had a great time, and count them in,” she said.
This story was originally published June 28, 2025 at 2:55 PM.
