The Star's Friday Editorial

Thousands of people and hundreds of horses will march with pride starting at 10 a.m. Saturday when they hit the streets for the 84th annual American Royal Parade. This beautiful spectacle is a Kansas City tradition.

It’s more than fun for the participants and spectators. The American Royal connects the community with its agrarian roots and promotes youth and education.

The 11 weeks of the American Royal began Sept. 12 with the youth horse show. The American Royal ends Nov. 21. In between are the rodeo, barbecue, bull riding, tours by schools and other groups of the “World of Ag.”

The Kemper Arena complex will teem with activity, animals and people. That’s good because the aging facility in the West Bottoms these days plays second fiddle to the newer and popular concert venue, the Sprint Center. The Kemper is a great arena, and the American Royal, as its biggest tenant, brings that out with its 250,000 fans.

The American Royal Parade helps get people excited. Spectators are expected to line the route starting at Pershing Road and Grand Boulevard and ending in the Power & Light District at 14th and Main streets. A crowd pleaser is expected to be a 160-foot museum on wheels called “Cowboys of the Old West Antique Cattle Drive.”

The American Royal Parade will feature 15 marching bands, six drill teams, 19 saddle clubs, 24 floats, 61 specialty units and 41 horses carrying a posse of dignitaries, including Kansas City Councilwomen Deb Hermann and Cindy Circo, City Manager Wayne Cauthen and Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders.

Deron Cherry, a former Kansas City Chiefs player, is the parade grand marshal. The theme of the parade fits the mission of the American Royal: “Educating Youth … Riding for a Reason.”

This uniquely Kansas City event will be televised on KSMO-TV, Channel 62. For more information go to www.americanroyal.com.