Turning Point Festival & Parade

On Saturday August 2nd SHC proudly displayed "Old Betsy" our 1856 hand tub at the Turning Point Festival at Ft. Hardy Park in the village.  The antique fire apparatus display was sponsored by MacBoston 18 Truck.

On Sunday August 3rd SHC participated in the 14th annual Turning Point parade also held in the village.  A total of twenty members represented SHC in the line of march, which also included pulling "Old Betsy", Car 57 and ER-573.  Later in the evening members also stood by with Car 57, ER-573 and F-575 for a fireworks display sponsored by the Turning Point Committee.

Visit www.turningpointparade.com for more information.

SCHUYLERVILLE -- The annual Turning Point Parade takes place rain or shine. But on Sunday morning, a couple of hours before the event was to start, parade committee chairman Byron Peregrim cast an anxious eye at the gathering dark clouds.

"I hope it holds off until after the parade," he said.

This is the parade's 14th year, and about 110 groups, ranging from a single person to the Navy's 96-member contingent, made it the largest, Peregrim said.

It was also one of the costliest parades, at an estimated $25,000. That included the fireworks event Sunday night, Peregrim said.

While two members of the statewide Volunteer Fire Judging Association lined up the 15 floats in the Schuylerville High School parking lot to choose which three most impressed them, and Peregrim and his staff hurried about checking on who had arrived among those who were marching lined up on Pearl Street.

And then, at noon, the rain came.

People ran for their cars or put up umbrellas. The Galway Gaelic Pipes and Drums, of Glens Falls, found a nearby porch. The 70-plus sailors, who were already formed into lines of five, stood and got wet. On Broad Street, people who were already sitting in their lawn chairs along the parade route pulled out their umbrellas. Others ran for the nearby Stewart's.

But John, Linda and Jamie Darrah and his daughter Hope -- all from Quaker Springs -- didn't move from their perch near the Broad and Ferry streets intersection.

"You can't find a place to sit if you come 15 minutes before the parade," Linda said.

She said she and her family have enjoyed the parade almost every year since it began and they love its historical significance and spectacle.

It was the first time, though, for Sharon Griffen and her children, G.C. and Lisabeth. Griffen said her mother, who is from Stillwater, convinced her to drive over early from Saratoga Springs so they could get a good spot.

As the rain started to let up, Mike Bonan of the Galway pipers said water affected the kilts, which became heavy and hung down. The pipes did all right and might only sound a bit out of tune, he said.

But the rifle-twirling and hotshot athletic routines by the Navy's nine Silver Dolphins wouldn't happen unless the rain stopped, said Seaman Brandon Wilaschin.

And then, as if on cue at 1 p.m., the sun came out and the parade began.

The Saratoga County Sheriff's Office sounded its siren and the Moodus Drum and Fife Corps struck up a march. Two huge oxen pulled a wagon holding Joe and Pat Peck, the parade's grand marshals, who were dressed in 18th-century garb. Fire and emergency vehicles and classic cars were interspersed with the many bands and marchers, which included several local politicians, Assemblyman Roy MacDonald and the clown Roger McDonald.

"It's a great parade," said one of the hundreds of bystanders