Parade ends, crowds disperse and get ready to eat

GUTHRIE – The Centennial Band, spelling ‘OKLAHOMA’ on their tubas, just concluded the centennial parade.

Ralph and Doris Morris of Edmond went to the centennial parade in
Oklahoma City, but said the one here was special.

“It was fantastically organized,” Doris Morris said, and noted the historic buildings in Guthrie really gave the area a feel for the past.

“Not in my lifetime will I ever see this again,” she said.

Blake Wade, executive director of the Oklahoma Centennial Commission, said he couldn’t have been happier with how everything turned out today. The parade really represented Oklahoma, he said, with the tractors and antique cars showing the state’s past and the numerous high school and college bands pointing to the future.

A crowd estimate is still being calculated, Wade said, but he walked the streets during the parade and the people were “at least 20-deep on each side.”

The crowds are dispersing, heading to the centennial picnic, and more celebrating will continue tonight in Oklahoma City for the Centennial Spectacular concert at the Ford Center.

- Jennifer Mock, Capitol Bureau

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