Thousands of people lined the streets of Cincinnati on a beautiful afternoon to take in the Findlay Market Reds Opening Day Parade. It was a festive event with lots of entries including mascots, marching bands, fire engines, police motorcycles, honor guards and Reds players from the past and present. WVXU's Mark Heyne was there with his camera and has these photos to share.
This parade might go down as one of the most well attended. Reds fans, eight rows deep in some places, lined the parade route to take in the sounds and sights of sirens, the revving of a loud lobster monster truck and bagpipes.
Ten year old John Brown didn't know what to expect because this was his first Opening Day Parade. His dad Jeff drove three hours from their home in Rockport, Indiana, leaving mom and sister behind. Jeff said, "We decided we wanted to do it and they didn't want to miss work and school and we figured we could get away with it."
Eighteen marching bands and about 200 entries marched in the 95th Findlay Market Opening Day parade that lasted more than two hours.
Erlanger's Mark Dusing may have put the most thought into watching the parade. His family came downtown around 6 a.m. to set up for the noontime parade at Garfield and Race with enough food, chairs and entertainment for up to 40 relatives.
It was go Reds all the way around. Henry Franklin was riding his bike and hoping to get close to the festivities. He said, about the Reds, "I'm hoping good things coming. They weren't that far off last year. I'm with them. I'm a die hard fan. I cut my teeth at Crosley Field. I'm with my team."
