Kaplan parade was a success

KAPLAN - Tuesday’s Chic-A-La-Pie parade in Kaplan went off without a hitch, after parade organizers implemented a new route on Cushing Boulevard.

Kaplan Chief of Police Steve Perry said the new route, which started and ended on Cushing Boulevard, “wasn’t a major problem.”

He said some 12,000 to 13,000 people attended the parade, despite the ominous bad weather, which turned out to be fine.

“By one o’clock the crowd started filling in,” Perry said.

This year’s parade traveled a slightly different route than normal, but Perry said this didn’t cause any problems for paradegoers.

In the past, the parade went up Cushing Boulevard and then traveled back down the other side of Cushing Boulevard. People lined both sides of the boulevard. This year’s parade only traveled on the east side of Cushing Boulevard, both in the beginning and end of the parade. Perry said police barricades helped with safety concerns.

“There were no major incidents,” he said about the parade; however, police did respond to several disturbance calls, fights and a few underage drinking incidents. All things considered, Perry concluded this year’s parade was a success.

“I’m not sure about next year,” he said about whether or not this year’s route will be in effect for the next year.

“I thought the west side would’ve been more congested, but it wasn’t,” Perry said.