PARADE MASCOT Puppeteers “swim” down Main Street with artist Bud Wertheim’s famed trout puppet at the head of the annual Trout parade in Livingston Manor on June 8. Manor Ink photo
Where the brook trout roam
Fish fandango heads west
Story, photos by Manor Ink Staff
Livingston Manor, NY – Not a discouraging word was heard on Saturday, June 8, when Livingston Manor’s 18th annual Trout Parade stepped off at 1 p.m. Thousands of fish fans thronged Main Street for the day’s main event, a procession of 37 floats, including eight with music, followed by the hamlet’s bright red firetrucks. The event’s theme this year was “Trout on the Range,” and parade processors and goers alike responded with range-appropriate regalia and accessories. Leading the piscatorial promenade as Grand Marshals were members of the Congregation Agudas Achim, the synagogue on Rock Avenue that is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Next came the parade’s legendary trout icon, an articulated six-person puppet created by the late artist and puppeteer, Bud Wertheim.
While waiting for the parade to begin, many in the huge crowd visited shops along Main Street and checked out the booths in Renaissance Park where dozens of organizations and craftspeople, including the hamlet’s library, WJFF Radio Catskill and the Future Farmers of America, had set up.
“The crowd’s definitely bigger than last year,” said one Sheriff’s Deputy as he directed traffic off Main Street and into Pecks’ parking lot. One enthusiastic visitor was overheard to say, “Wow! The traffic! A lotta people! I love it!”
Organizer Maria Bivins confirmed that 2024 Trout Parade would be the biggest ever. Taking a moment from responding to calls on her cell phone, Bivins described the weather as perfect and said the event was an undeniable success.
And, indeed, the skies were “not cloudy all day.”
