Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie raced through the downtown during Washington's Ridiculous Days' Parade Saturday evening, June 1. (Matt Bryant/Union photo)

WASHINGTON – Washington’s downtown was abuzz all last weekend as residents celebrated the 77th annual Ridiculous Days courtesy of the Washington Chamber of Commerce.

Rain on the morning of Saturday, June 1 put a bit of a damper on some of the activities since it scared away people, and vendors reported worse sales than last year. However, by Saturday evening, the downtown’s sidewalks were lined with children and adults anxious to see the parade. New this year was a kids’ parade that allowed youngsters to get involved by dressing up and handing out candy without having to miss the big parade that came later.

Washington Chamber of Commerce Director Michelle Redlinger said that, although the drizzling rain Saturday morning lasted longer than organizers hoped, they felt the weekend was a success overall and that the event brought out not just a nice Washington crowd but also people from neighboring towns. For instance, a new car show Friday night organized with help from Corn Country Cruisers attracted people from Williamsburg, Muscatine, Iowa City and other cities.

“For our parade, we got a strong attendance with some nice guests like the Shriners showing up, and a number of antique tractors from a larger geographic distance as well,” Redlinger said.

The winners of this year’s float contest was Atlas Molded Products, whose float featured elements from the Super Mario Bros Nintendo game. Redlinger said the company made the characters, tall green tubes, coins and other items in its float from polystyrene which they use in their factory.

“They make everything look so vibrant and nice,” said Redlinger, who added that Atlas Molded Products has won the Ridiculous Days’ float contest three years in a row.

Redlinger said turnout was great for the street dance Saturday night featuring the country band Tyler Richton and The High Bank Boys.

“The crowd continued to grow throughout the evening,” she said. “The headliner, Tyler Richton, did a fabulous job. We got fantastic compliments from young people and the older generation about them doing a good job connecting and reaching out to the community as a whole.”

Redlinger wants to remind Washington residents that the chamber will bring live music to the square every Thursday evening from June through late September in partnership with the Washington Farmers Market. Those performances now start at 5:30 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. like in past years, and the bands also play 90 minutes instead of 60. The Washington Municipal Band begins its concerts at 7:45 p.m. now.

“It’s a great chance to celebrate as a community with live music and great food,” Redlinger said.