This year, it seemed to me that the Strawberry Festival parade was much shorter than in previous years. 

At first I thought that due to our poor economy some parade participants from former years may have decided not to become involved this year. But in speaking with several parade participants, I discovered that the Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the parade, has been putting pressure on parade participants to hurry in order to keep up with the front of the parade. 

This means that they do not have time to perform their skits and/or drills as often or as well as they would like. It also means that the parade passes by the parade watcher at an accelerated pace and thus, even with the same number of participants, the parade seems much shorter.

For me the parade is the most important part of the Strawberry Festival. So the question is, why is the Chamber of Commerce in such a hurry to have it over so quickly? What is the rush? If they are concerned about gaps between participants, why do they not just instruct the people in the front of the parade to slow down? The Strawberry Festival parade is an event to savor and enjoy. It is much more enjoyable if it does not pass by so quickly and be over so soon.

— Sharon Hines-Pinion