MOSES LAKE — Here in these parts we do things a little different to usher in the holiday season. Sure most communities have a holiday parade of some sort, but not too many communities pay homage to their roots at the same time. The Agriculture Appreciation Parade and Street Party in Moses Lake does just that every year by honoring the city’s longstanding ties to agriculture, while having a little holiday fun at the same time.

“The weather was great,” said Brandon Nicholas, director of the Moses Lake Business Association. “Probably one of the warmest parades we’ve had in a ling time.”

“I’ve been taking the kids here for the past couple of years because first of all they love it. And second of all because where else can a person find a tractor that is decked out in Christmas lights,” Mark Jacobson remarked with a laugh.

The 24th annual celebration of harvest and agriculture took the floats down a mile-long route of streets that were lined with people. Third Avenue near Sinkiuse Square seemed to be the place to be this year to catch the parade and load up on free candy.

“We come here every year because they throw out the most amount of candy here I think. And I like to watch the big trucks and stuff maneuver around that big clock in the middle of the street,” 12-year-old Derek Blatche said.

“Yeah, I really hope they never hit that thing. Would be a pretty big crash,” chimed in his sister, Danielle.

Every year the parade has a grand marshal, or pair of grand marshals for this year’s festivities. Warren and Judy Henninger, longtime farmers and owners of AgWorld Support Services, assumed the role of grand marshals for the parade Friday night. Friday evening’s festivities weren’t solely contained to the parade itself, however, throughout the downtown business corridor there was a number of different booths offering food, music, warm drinks, the occasional fire pit to keep warm and, of course, that jolly guy with the long white beard and deep belly laugh was there as well.

“I can last year and I can say with certainty that this year’s party and parade were much bigger. It seems like they turned it up a notch this year and for that I am thankful, because for me this about my kids having fun and they did just that the entire night,” Carla Stinnett said.