Clowns, Steel Drums, Wedding Bells At Mackinaw City Memorial Parade

This story first appeared in the June 9, 2023, Mackinac Island Town Crier print edition

The Mackinaw Memorial Parade in Mackinaw City Saturday, May 27, was full of colorful float entries, marching bands, and clowns drawing in hundreds of spectators from the area and beyond.

Preceding the parade was a performance by the Scottville Clown Band at Mackinaw Crossings, and following the parade was a pageant reenactment at Colonial Michilimackinac.

In the morning performance by the Scottville Clown Band, dozens of clowns dressed in every pattern and color of the rainbow played songs like “Tequila” and “God Bless America.” Herb Early, president of the band, was in the audience during the concert pulling volunteers out onto the lawn in front of the stage. Near the end of the concert, Jamie Mackey proposed to partner Rachel Morgeson after they danced together on the grass. It was their first time experiencing the band, they said. They had come to Mackinaw City from the greater Cincinnati, Ohio, and northern Kentucky area.

Shortly after the concert, the parade stepped off on South Huron Avenue by the boat docks. Some entries in the parade included the Ahmed Shriners Li’l Indys Unit, the Petoskey Steel Drum Band, the Gaylord Alpenfest, and multiple high school marching bands.

Jamie Mackey proposes to partner Rachel Morgeson after the clown band performance.

Members of the Ahmed Shriners Li’l Indys Unit ride down South Huron Avenue as the Mackinaw Memorial Day parade comes to a close.

A mascot marches in the parade with the Civil Air Patrol’s Cass River Composite Squadron from Caro.

The Gaylord Alpenfest Queen and her Court ride atop a float filled with flowers and greenery.

Wesley Stream, “The Kid,” prepares to dance the can-can with the Scottville Clown Band.

A float from the Jack Pine Lumberjack Shows in Mackinaw City featured lumberjacks scaling large poles while the float itself was moving.

A large red, double-decker bus carries the Petoskey Steel Drum Band along the Mackinaw Memorial Parade route. The bus was full of members playing, dancing, and singing.