Who loves a parade?

Large crowd turns out for Haynes-Apperson Parade and assorted fun

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The highlight of summer in Kokomo is the Haynes-Apperson Festival, and at the heart of it lies the annual parade. A seemingly endless line of automobiles — Kokomo’s heritage — is supplemented by marchers, musicians, and more.

The 2025 rendition of the parade featured its grand marshal Eddie Bethea, who was accompanied by many of his martial arts students. But the men and women in bright white gis and wielding nunchaku were not the only people spinning sticks in the parade. A prodigious troupe of experienced baton twirlers all adorned in pink marched through downtown, showing off their skills.

The Kokomo High School Marching Band is among the most crowd-pleasing entries in the parade, and they did not disappoint as they previewed the musical performance they will present in just a few weeks at the Indiana State Fair.

The parade is also home to political parties and candidates as they attempt to attract interest and ingrain their names into the memories of potential voters. And to make sure they get noticed, several of them toss candy to the crowd. Mayor Tyler Moore actually did double duty in this year’s parade, driving a car early in the procession, then hustling to the back of the line to join the GOP in a bit of innocent pandering.

Many of the mainstays of Indiana parades were also present. The Shriners sped around wildly in their souped-up go-karts, and the VFW honor guard led the line with reverence as they displayed our country’s colors.

In all, there seemed to be something in the parade for nearly everyone, and the parade’s judges — seated within the bandshell along Main Street — properly rewarded the best of the participants with their acclamations. And of course, the Haynes-Apperson Festival lead organizer and biggest cheerleader, Paul Wyman, manned the microphone to announce and welcome each of the participants.

Lantern photographer Adam Hartsough was there to capture many of the best moments of the parade and even strolled through the festival grounds to catch a few shots to share. See a full gallery of Haynes-Apperson coverage at www.kokomolantern.com or on the Lantern’s Facebook page or group.