Views of the Neighborhood – The Annual Old Town Parade

~ John W. Howell

As you may know, Port Aransas was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey. Each year there is a parade and festival honoring Port Aransas’ old town. In spite of Harvey and in spite of the devastation especially in old town, the parade and festival continued as usual. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Port Aransas Old Town Parade

This is a shot of the parade lining up to start

With two state troopers in the lead, we are off. The State Troopers who number about twenty have been an immense morale booster to the community. They can’t be thanked enough.

Two signs. The first says “Riders of the Storm and the second says “Tell Your Harvey Story,” and a link to do that.

This is a fire truck from Buda, a town near Austin.

A bunch of golf carts with Port A Proud signs.

A big float with the same message.

Here is a resident on a three-wheeler with signs that read, Port A Strong Port A Proud.

A float from Keep Port Aransas Beautiful.

The background has changed a little to show some kids getting candy thrown by the parade participants. A Mid Century Pontiac is very cool.

Some residents enjoying the parade and some children racing back to the spectator section with candy.

A day school float. A reminder that the Port Aransas schools are open again.

Photo of a good Samaritan getting candy for the children and the ARC turtle patrol in the background.

Here is a lovely Mid Century MG with a thumbs up driver.

A little boy goes after the candy.

Old Town Parade

Here is the poster announcing the Old Town Festival of which the parade was one item. I purposely did not crop out the backgrounds on the parade route. I think it was important to catch the spirit of the parade in spite of the surroundings. Hopefully, the photos did that. There were way too many to post all of them but maybe you got the flavor. A very uplifting event.

 

59 thoughts on “Views of the Neighborhood – The Annual Old Town Parade”

      1. Oh, I’m looking at next summer. We usually try to swing a week at the beach in July or August. We generally go to Myrtle Beach, but Port Aransas looks like a nice, restful town to soak up some rays, and it wouldn’t be a bad drive from St. Louis–we’d overnight in Texarkana, or someplace like that.

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  4. Good morning, John,
    Aren’t these parades something?! To my mind, small-town Texas at its best. And, especially this time for you, really something to keep your spirits up. Keep goin strong,
    Pit

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  6. Wonderful parade, dear John! And the true spirit is where it should be! It’s so important to arrange events of the kind after disasters for people to get recovered faster. Well-done! :-9|

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  11. “Port A Proud” really captures this event. I really loved the 3-wheeler and all the smiles. What a testimony to the human spirit! Thank you, John, for the update and the levity.

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  14. Good for Port A, not canceling this parade! It’s feel-good events like this that keep up morale and encourage forward thinking. Love the contrast between the boarded-up Subway and the clear skies — great day for a parade!

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