VFW Post 8577 gearing up for 48th annual parade

By LYNETTE SOWELL 
Cove Leader-Press

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8577 is preparing for the 48th annual Veterans Day Parade, set for Saturday, Nov. 11, at 10 a.m.
The event will kick off with cannon fire at the post at approximately 9:55 a.m. 
Units categories include civic groups, marching bands, auto clubs, equestrian units and motorcycle clubs. 
More groups will likely sign up this week to march or drive the one-and-a-half mile route. 
The theme for the 2017 parade is “All Veterans, All Wars.”
Veterans’ groups that meet at the VFW such as the local American Legion, the Military Order of the Cooties, and the 40 and 8, will be among those participating in the parade, he added.
Participating groups will start lining up at 8 a.m. at the post, with floats and overflow groups lining up at the Fairview side of the Fairview/Jewell Elementary Parking lot. 
First and second place trophies will be awarded in categories to include Band, Marching Unit, Float, Decorated Car/Truck and Horse Unit after the parade.
The parade route begins at the post headquarters on 1506 Veterans Ave and then will go east on Veterans Avenue until it reaches Main Street, where it will take a left, then take the curve by Grace United Methodist Church onto Avenue F. The parade route continues, going right on South First Street, then making another right onto Avenue D, where the procession will continue to the Cove Terrace Shopping Center parking lot. 
After the awards ceremony at the post, the VFW will serve up its traditional pinto beans and cornbread meal, along with desserts.
For more information about the parade, visit the VFW 8577’s website,  vfw8577.com/veterans-day-parade.html, or call the post at (254) 547-1516.