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AFAD draws near record crowds
Near-record crowds flocked to downtown Mountain Home to demonstrate their support for military service members stationed here and across southern Idaho during the 49th annual Air Force Appreciation Day.
The celebration started Friday evening with the yearly corn shucking, which brings together members from the local community and nearby Mountain Home Air Force Base. It took the hundreds of volunteers roughly five minutes to fix 5,000 ears of corn slated for Saturday's meal.
Friday's festivities moved into high gear with the AFAD five-mile run and three-mile walk. The evening's heat tended to slow down the 42 registered runners and 60 walkers with the average finish times exceeding the expected 26 to 29 minute marks.
Appreciation day festivities swung into full force as thousands of parade enthusiasts lined the route Saturday morning. Some families woke up early to stake out prime locations, especially areas blocking out sunlight.
A record number of handmade floats were among the nearly 150 entries participating in this year's parade, said Sue Gross, AFAD parade organizer. More than 2,400 people volunteered their time to participate in the parade, which lasted more than 2 1/2 hours --about 30 minutes longer than average AFAD parades.
For complete results and winners from the parade, raffle and fun run, see this week's Mountain Home News.
See the Mountain Home News for the complete story.
More photo's available in the Mountain Home News Photo Gallery.