By Madison Lira
It has been two years since many Veterans and their families in and around Avondale-Boone have seen the Veterans parade walk down Avondale Boulevard. The wait had finally ended as the 18th annual Veterans parade was held again on Saturday, Oct. 8. Although being away for two years due to COVID-19 hadn’t made the parade less popular. Over 47 participants walked down Avondale Boulevard and showed pride for Pueblo, Avondale, Veterans and their families. The largest attendance in the parade’s history.
The night before the parade was a joyous occasion, as the 20th annual Gala for those Veterans honored at the parade was held. They deviated from the previous location of the Gala, Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum. Instead, this year’s Gala was at the Pueblo Union Depot located at 132 W B St. The change of location was due to a bigger turnout for Veterans and their families attending. At the event, seven Veterans, ranging from World War II to Iraqi Freedom, were honored.
The Gala was also a night for politicians, as many officials on the ballot this midterm year attended to mingle. A few noticeable names were Nick Hinrichsen, a Colorado Senate member for Colorado’s 3rd district and a former Army Veteran. Also, Adam Frisch, the Democratic candidate running for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional district against opposition Lauren Bobert.
Many people seemed to have also been curious about why an Avondale parade for Veterans occurs. Many were also curious why the parade is held the month before our nation’s dedicated month to Veterans in November.
Julian Perez, a co-founder of the Avondale-Boone Parade and Gala, said, “We didn’t want it on Memorial Day in November so that float entries wouldn’t have to choose between our parade and the one in Pueblo.”
The parade is held in Avondale because, “at the time, we [co-founders Perez and Dan Aragon] wanted to do something in Avondale to make residents feel better about where they lived.”
Quite a few people in Avondale had joined the United States military, so Perez and Aragon made sense to make a parade honoring those who served and put their lives at risk for their country in this small town outside of Pueblo, Colo.
Many are excited to see this small-town tradition come back in full force since the last parade and Gala were held in 2019, right before the pandemic had fully hit the United States. Here’s to another 20 years of celebrating Pueblo’s heroes at this local commemoration.
