On Oct. 14 the annual Youth Day Parade took place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., taking its route down Canton Street and ending at Roswell Area Park. Many sponsors, companies, and clubs at Roswell participate in creating floats, to celebrate the youth.
The parade is held to create an enjoyable time full of fun festivities and this year was the 73rd year anniversary the parade and its theme was “The Sounds of Roswell.” Roswell Hornets Football, cheerleading, band, Interact Club, and the OSCAR (Outstanding Students Creating Awesome Robots Robotics club) participated in the parade.
Kenzie Hackett holding the OSCAR Robotics team flag with Oscar the Grouch, drawing a lot of excitement and attention from the crowd. (Credit: Roswell Robotics)
OSCAR participated under the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) organization. Their focus is on creating robots, but additionally paying back the community that has supported them by participating in the Youth Day Parade.
Their float included an older robot the team had created, with decorations adding to the fun like their flag with Oscar the Grouch, and music related symbols per the theme “Sounds of Roswell.”
Junior Madison Lu said, “Most people along the parade route didn’t know Roswell High School has a Robotics team! We saw parents and kids pointing at Tazbot and our float, and they couldn’t believe students in our local community were building real robots.”
Furthermore, she said, “For all our team members, it was the first time we paraded with our Robotics Team. We were super excited to be a part of the event, and everyone had a great time throwing out candies to the crowd.”
Interact club is a service club, supported by the Roswell Rotary. They help in projects that benefit the community of Roswell; events like the Youth Day Parade, Be the Voice, and the First Responder cookout.
This year’s Interact float was decorated by RHS students, interact members, and feeder middle school students to resemble major Roswell attractions like the Roswell Mill and Vickery Creek Waterfall. The design and final float won first place for best civic organization. Interact sponsor, Regan Pierce, said “Riding and walking with the float is really fun because we get to throw candy to the little kids in the crowd. They get so excited, and it’s adorable!”
Roswell Interact and Rotary Club’s float in the Youth Day Parade. (Credit: Regan Pierce)
Senior Dylan Williams along with other Varsity Football teammates split up into different cars that drove through the parade tossing out candy to cheering kids. Williams said, “It was definitely fun, lots of the kids recognized us and seeing them cheer as we passed by was super cool.”
Seniors Dylan Williams, KJ Smith, and Devin Redmond on one of the football floats. (Credit: Dylan Williams)
Junior Juju Murphy, Roswell JV cheerleader cheered along as well, playing music with other cheer friends while passing out candy. Prior to the parade, the team helped add decorations to the trucks. Murphy said, “It’s a lot of fun getting to spend time with your teammates while getting to see the little kids faces light up when they see you and get the candy you’re throwing.”
Juju Murphy, Sami Saripkin, Rachel Jeffs, Eliza House, Tyler Ryan, Stella King and Ashlyn Wilson in one of the many cheer floats. (Credit: Roswell Cheer)
One major part of the parade is hearing the band play. Both the Roswell and Centennial marching bands played together for the two-mile-long route. Senior Kaisyn Vincoli said, “It was fun, yet tiring because it was two miles long and also raining which made it more challenging but more fun and definitely something I will remember forever.”
They played recognizable songs heard at football games and pep rallies. Additionally, Vincoli said, “Having people chant the ‘Hey Song’ with us is always fun to hear that you are bringing joy to people in our community.”
The Youth Day Parade is an annual event to recognize the community of Roswell and the school’s participation in this event is an annual tradition for many Roswell residents.
