Thousands turned out to celebrate Newtown’s 62nd Annual Labor Day Parade on Monday, September 2. A long-standing town tradition, the parade marks the end of the summer and has a wide range of participants, from bands, businesses, and organizations, to first responders, politicians, and celebrity impersonators, march and be seen by the community. A grand total of 75 groups had registered for the line of march.

Hours before the parade even started, early-birds lined both sides of the parade route with chairs, looking to find the best view. Some front yards had tables lined with snacks and drinks, while others had people sit on blankets to cheer on participants as they passed by. The entire parade route, from Main Street to Glover Avenue and then to Queen Street, brimmed with life and energy in a way unlike any other day of the year.

The celebration was led by this year’s Parade Marshals Sue and Jim Shortt, who are owners of Shortt’s Farm. They were also the direct inspiration of this year’s parade theme, which was “Garden of Plenty.” Sue and Jim sat from atop their float in chairs alongside hay barrels and two buckets of full of red, yellow, and orange zinnias. To them, it was an honor to be appointed as this year’s parade marshals and be recognized for their efforts in the community.

Right before the parade started, Sue said in an interview with The Newtown Bee that she was not only excited to see the floats, but also to finally have a chance to see their sons driving tractors in the parade.

“We’ve been looking forward to it,” Jim said before the parade. “We got a great day, a lot of energy, a lot of people. It’ll be fun.”

The Shortts were not alone in leading the parade, as they also led with their handpicked Parade Judges Eileen Bradshaw, Janet Vollmer, Theresa Salvatore, and Lee Paulsen. All four of them sported matching flower accessories for the occasion and beamed with excitement about being selected for the role, saying that they were happy to honor both Sue and Jim.

“I’m very, very happy that we are honoring Jim and Sue Shortt,” Paulsen said. “They’re just terrific people.”

Bradsaw said that the biggest thing to her was seeing the community come together and get excited for such a big town tradition.

“It’s just been so amazing seeing the community be so excited for this. I mean, some people were even lining up their chairs in the afternoon [the day before the parade],” Bradshaw said. “People are so excited about it and really show up to support our community.”

Continuing a long-standing parade tradition, the Newtown Police Department, as well as the Newtown PD Honor Guard, and Newtown High School Marching Band & Color Guard, had the lead positions and kicked off the parade. Newtown Police Traffic Unit Officer Leonard Penna said that, similar to what they do with the motor units for most parades in Connecticut, the NPD went to neighboring towns and invited them all to help escort the parade with motorcycles. This year, the group consisted of Newtown, Brookfield, Fairfield, and Stamford police departments.

Penna said that he was most excited to see everyone else excited, to wave at everybody, and to kickstart the parade and make the kids smile.

“That’s the best part,” said Penna. “We really love it, all of us do. We do it for that reason. At the end of the day, it’s all about the community.”

Susan Lang joined former Newtown Bee Editor John Voket as a returning parade emcee at the Main Street emcee stand this year, while Mike Giarratano and Jay Edwards ran the Queen Street emcee stand. Lang said that she has been emceeing for the parade for nearly ten years and that the reason she keeps coming back to emcee is because of how fun it is.

Throughout the whole event, spectators, whether they stood or sat on chairs or blankets, cheered for every participant that passed them by. Children excitedly lined the sides of the road and dove for candy whenever it was tossed their way. Music filled the air from impersonators of Neil Diamond, Elvis Presley, and Tina Turner, as well as from other organizations such as Newtown Stage Company, which blasted out “Let It Go” in celebration of their run of Frozen Jr earlier this summer.

The Pyramid Shriners Legion of Honor took to the streets and drove around in their tiny cars. Later in the parade many people drove down Main Street in tractors as part of the “Newtown Tractors” group, honoring the long-standing tradition of antique tractors in the Newtown Labor Day Parade.

Pyramid Shriners Legion of Honor Illustrious Potentate Justin Magri says that “they ride so that kids can walk,” raising money for Shriners Hospitals for Children, and that the event gives them a chance to spread awareness about what they do.

Newtown Underwater Search and Rescue Chief Mike McCarthy says that the event gives them the opportunity to celebrate the community and that it comes as a natural tradition being a hometown group.

“We’ve been in the parade ever since our existence started in 1989,” McCarthy said. “It’s a hometown parade and we’re a hometown group.”

Residents Nancy and Gary Werner attended the parade together, which has been a long-standing tradition of theirs for over a decade. Nancy sat on top of the stone wall at the top of Church Hill Road, which she said was “her spot” every year during the parade, to get the best view.

For as hot as it was that day, Brooke Heibeck, Annabel Schnitzler, Grace Miller, and Alanna Nazareth helped spectators beat the heat by handing out free snow cones. Right beside them was a sign that had doodles of snow cones with hearts around them and encouraged people to make donations to FAITH Food Pantry.

Many people also travelled to come and see the parade. For Helen Pantuso, LeeAnne Pantuso-Clark, and Karlene Bresson Blaser, they each traveled from different states — Florida, California, and Massachusetts, respectively — to reconnect as well as enjoy the special occasion.

For as challenging as it can be to put everything together, Labor Day Parade Board President Nicholas Kopcik said that “it’s still so fun and rewarding to put on the show for the town.”

“Seeing all the kids’ faces in the parade, seeing everyone be so happy, it’s awesome. It’s just so awesome,” Kopcik said.

As is tradition, the end of the event had the judges pick award winners for many different categories.

The “Best Float” winner was the Ct. Tiare Polynesian Dance Troupe, and the runner-up was the Veterans of Foreign Affairs Post 308.

For the “Best Musical Entry — Senior” category, the winner was Maplewood Senior Living, with the runner-up being Tina Turner.

“Best Musical Entry — Junior” went to Newtown Stage Company, while the runner-up was Spotlight Dance Conservatory.

Veterans of Foreign Affairs Post 308 was chosen as the “Most Patriotic,” the runner-up being the Pyramid Shriners Legion of Honor.

“Best School” went to St Rose of Lima School, and the runner-up was World Champion Taekwondo Newtown.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue was distinguished as the “Best Fire Department,” with Hawleyville Fire Department as the runner-up.

The winner for “Most Fitting Parade Theme” was New Heights Baptist Church, and the runner-up was Newtown Tractors.

“Most Colorful Entry” also went to New Heights Baptist Church, with the runner-ups being Newtown High School Wrestling and Newtown Youth Wresting.

For “Best Non-Musical,” the winner was Newtown Tractors, while the runner-up was Newtown Forest Association.

The “Best New Entry” winner was Tina Turner, while the runner-up was Jim Paprowski and Mayor of South Main Street Danny Amaral.

And lastly, the “Rooster Award,” which is for the most crowd pleasing, went to Newtown Tractors.

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.