The Northwest Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce will commemorate Memorial Day with a parade on Saturday, May 18, in High Ridge.
Immediately following the parade, the Northwest Branch of the Jefferson Library will hold a Touch-a-Truck event.
Parade
Chamber board member Jim Lehnhoff said the parade will begin at 10 a.m. at Fellowship Baptist Church, 2735 High Ridge Blvd., in High Ridge and proceed about a half mile, finishing at the Northwest Branch of the Jefferson Library, 5680 Hwy. PP, in High Ridge.
This is the third year the chamber will hold a Memorial Day Parade.
The public is encouraged to attend.
“Our goal is to basically grow from here on forward,” Lehnhoff said. “There’s a new sidewalk going along High Ridge Boulevard for all the community members to be able to stand on safely during the morning. With the new sidewalk, it will hopefully create a more hometown feel.”
Lehnhoff said the parade will include classic cars, sports cars, military and first responder vehicles and decorated floats.
Parade participants will line up between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. at the church, Lehnhoff said. High Ridge Boulevard will be closed to traffic beginning at 10 a.m. at Crossroads Plaza and Hwy. PP. Traffic on Antire Road also will be diverted.
Touch-a-Truck event
Children and adults alike will have the opportunity to get up close to an assortment of vehicles during the Touch-a-Truck event, Northwest Branch manager Cindy Hayes said.
According to the library’s website, the event will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot.
Hayes said a dump truck, bucket truck, tow truck, monster truck and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT BearCat vehicle will line the library’s parking lot.
Kona Ice and a taco food truck will sell food and drinks, she said.
“(The parade) tends to draw people. They sit and watch the parade and just follow it down here,” Hayes said. “We’ll have all sorts of trucks for kids to climb in and learn how they operate.”
A balloon artist and an airbrush tattoo artist will also be at the event.
This is the third time the library has held the Touch-a-Truck event.
Hayes said between 200 and 300 people usually attend.
“We’re hoping that, if they’ve never been in the library, they’ll come out to see the trucks and then maybe wander inside and see what we have to offer,” she said. “So many people have said to me, ‘Oh, I haven’t been to the library since I was in school.’ It’s changed a lot since then.”