Paul White is right about Watercade. “It’s a great event,” he said recently. “Sometimes we take it for granted. We don’t want to lose it.”
We must remember that not every community puts together a four-day festival packed with tons of fun, whether involving a talent show, tennis tournament, water ball fight, fireworks, medallion hunt, 4-mile run, royalty coronation and so on.
During an interview last month about White being named this year’s Watercade grand marshal, he noted that the Minneapolis Aquatennial announced it is scaling back its annual celebration this year from 10 to four days.
That’s too bad, as the Aquatennial is an important Minnesota institution.
Fortunately, there’s no reason to downsize Watercade, as it still attracts hundreds of people each year, many from outside the area. These folks have a great time and leave our community filled with words of praise.
The best part about Watercade is its display of community pride. Kids and parents show how they care about Litchfield simply by participating in events — dressing up for the kiddie parade, shaking those hips in a Hula Hoop contest, spraying water in the Fire Department’s water ball fight, frantically searching for the medallion, waving to crowds along the parade route, etc.
These small acts of coming together to celebrate are meaningful, and they help make Litchfield a special place.
Sure, Litchfield has its challenges like any other rural community does, and some of those challenges are highlighted in headlines and stories in this newspaper on a regular basis.
But when it comes to Watercade, it’s a time to emphasize the positive — to show the world we’re all about the brighter side of life.
Speaking of bright, nothing is brighter than the smiles shown by Litchfield’s royalty. This year, nine candidates are competing for the crown, the largest field since 2012 when 11 young women vied for the crown.
Reigning queen, Ali Richardson, and the two princesses, Erika Hart and Emily Schreiber, did a wonderful job of representing Litchfield throughout the region the past year. They went to many major events and some smaller ones, too, like attending preschool story hour last August at Litchfield Public Library.
“Just being as involved as we were, that’s what’s really rewarding to me — having my voice out there and being a good role model,” Richardson said about her royalty experience.
Which brings us back to White’s point about not taking Watercade for granted. For Watercade to succeed, people must volunteer their time and dedicate themselves to giving back to the community. It’s not as easy as some people, such as White, make it look.
We all have a role to play in making Watercade successful. For many of us, going to Watercade events is our job — and that’s great.
For others like Richardson, their calling is to go a step further and work year-round in the name of representing Litchfield.
That’s why no matter who is crowned queen on Sunday, we’re grateful for everyone who made this year’s coronation — and every other Watercade event — possible.
We hope to never take Watercade for granted.
Copyright 2015 Litchfield Independent Review/Crow River Media/Media News Group.