The South's zaniest parade was once again the highlight of the 13th annual Mainx24 festival on the Southside on Saturday.
In contrast to last year's dismal weather, there were ideal conditions for the 10:30 a.m. parade and the rest of the round-the-clock neighborhood party.
Anything goes in this parade - Forrest Gump in ball cap trotting steadily behind the front-running cop cars to characters on stilts and multiple Santa Clauses.
Robbie Steen as Elf was once again a hit, and the Howard Band was a leading entry.
There were politicians, pub pedal conveyances, rows of old VWs, snazzy Corvettes and normal people dressed like zombies, Spiderman and ChattaHooligans.
The parade featured the hula hoop girl and the guy juggling three balls.
The big fire truck from Fire Hall #1, where the event started with a $5 pancake breakfast, was again a main stay.
Some rode bikes, some walked, some waved from colorful floats.
Almost everyone threw out candy. It was better than Halloween.
About half the spectators had dogs - of all varieties.
Merchants along the way racked up at pop up food and merchandise stands.
At Zarzours, which is been around much, much longer than Mainx24, Shannon Fuller was flipping burgers like crazy as Joe and Sherri frantically took orders. All 87 were taken.