Big crowd creates parade parking problem

Tuesday’s Independence Day parade in downtown Bigfork drew a record-breaking crowd, and with it a parking problem.

With the special addition of a team of Clydesdales pulling a Budweiser beer wagon in the annual parade, numbers swelled from the estimated 5,000 spectators who normally attend to between 6,000 and 7,000 people, according to Michele Shapero, one of the parade’s two volunteer coordinators.

This year, attendees were advised by the Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce to park at the John Paul Catholic Church on Montana 35, the Crossroads Church down the street or the Montana Athletic Club on Holt Drive. Two full-sized school buses were on hand to shuttle parade-goers to downtown — nearly doubled the capacity compared to last year’s parade. However, Shapero said the increase still wasn’t enough.

According to Bigfork Chamber executive director and parade coordinator Heather Burnham, the shuttles began running at 9 a.m. However, as the start time for the parade drew closer and crowds grew, Burnham said the bus picking up along Montana 35 began filling up on its first stop at John Paul, leaving those parked down the street to wait.

According to Burnham, as soon as the Chamber became aware of the situation, they contacted Rocky Mountain Transportation to have drivers go back for those who were left behind.

One Bigfork resident expressed his disappointment in this year’s parade accommodations.

“We were very much looking forward to seeing the parade, and with the Clydesdale horses this year, even more excited,” Steve Mitchell said in a letter to the editor. “During the more than one hour we spent waiting, only one school bus showed up one time to take a load of people.”

After nearly two hours of waiting, Mitchell said he and several of the others gave up and left.

The main issue the Chamber and its volunteers run into each year, according to Burnham, is the lack of funding for the parade. The Chamber pays for trash pickup, portable toilets, street security, highway traffic control and the shuttles.

This was the second year shuttles were offered, and Burnham said the two buses alone cost around $1,100.

In order to prevent the same issues next year, Shapero and Burnham said the Chamber is considering ways to fund adequate busing, including the potential collection of entry fees for those participating in the parade.

“Coming up with a bus budget is a challenge,” Shapero said. “We’re doing the best we can.”

“Our goal is to keep everyone safe and for all of our residents and visitors to enjoy the parade,” Burnham said in a media statement. “Clearly two buses are not enough. Again, we apologize to those people who were not able to see the parade and left waiting.”

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.