Fun and rain are two words that rarely appear in the same sentence.

But the 2026 Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Parade in downtown La Conner on Saturday proved an exception to the rule.

Based on social media posts and comments from those who were among a large turnout that lined the length of First Street, a steady and chilly drizzle didn’t dampen enthusiasm for the popular parade — a cherished La Conner spring tradition dating to the late 1980s.

Despite the drippy conditions, this year’s parade drew smiles and good cheer from onlookers and participants alike.

Little wonder, too, given the dozens of outstanding entries. There were floats and marching bands, vintage vehicles and horses, and community groups and fancily adorned pets.

Plus rigs sporting national brands such as the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile and the locally owned Meow Mix catmobile.

The catmobile, owned by Tony and Gina Johnson of Shelter Bay and a mainstay at La Conner parades, greeted spectators with tunes from its commercial-quality sound system. Dancing alongside was La Conner’s Glen Johnson, filling the role formerly held by the Swinomish Sloughmander, who hasn’t been seen in these parts for several years.

While the catmobile was a familiar sight, the Oscar Mayer entry was something of a novelty.

“You know it’s a big parade when you have the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile,” one attendee said.

Social media poster Laura Powers agreed.

“Nothing says tulips like a Wienermobile,” she quipped.

Two groups responsible for launching the local tulip parade nearly 40 years ago — the La Conner Kiwanis Club and the Nile Temple Shriners — were well represented again.

The Kiwanians pulled the float carrying the 2026 La Conner Daffodil Festival royal court. The Shriners entered their band and a crazy car or two.

It was the late Shelter Bay resident Luke Long, a Shriner and La Conner Kiwanian, who in spur-of-the-moment fashion organized the first tulip parade here, inviting his costumed colleagues from the Mountlake Terrace Temple to join in.

In the hours leading up to that inaugural serpentine, Long jokingly called it an “impromptu parade,” explaining that he had run out of time to secure proper permits.

Long’s idea took hold. In a big way.

Today, the parade is a sanctioned Tulip Festival event powered by Harborstone Credit Union and featuring an interactive KidsZone supported by multiple corporate sponsors.

The 2026 parade ran about a half hour. Crowds that lingered in spite of the weather were treated near the end to a string of classic Corvettes and a stirring performance by the Skagit Latin Horses Association.

Other entries of note included the neon green Seattle Seahawks Fanbulance and Jane Addams Middle School Marching Band of Seattle. The La Conner Community News also provided music with its fledgling kazoo band.

At the tail of the parade was La Conner Electric Co. technician Steve Thein, who the night before spent time at his home workshop modifying the firm’s banner so he could carry it by himself.

Thein gave his handiwork a thumbs-up.

“It held up in the rain,” he said. “That’s what counts.”

As parade-goers wound their way afterward up Morris Street to their cars and trucks — First Street was again off-limits to parking during the festivities — they approached a fundraiser lemonade stand manned by members of the La Conner Future Youth Boys Hoops program.

La Conner Future coach Joe Harper mused that the weather wasn’t conducive to lemonade.

“Maybe we should’ve had a coffee or hot chocolate stand instead,” he chuckled.

Even so, the venture appeared to be a slam dunk. Passersby often donated to the cause whether or not they ordered a cup of lemonade.

La Conner Hook & Ladder and the Town Public Works Department were engaged throughout the event on traffic and parking fronts. In fact, crews from Hook & Ladder, Skagit County Fire District 13, and Anacortes Med 12 put in work early, tending to a person on First Street believed to have suffered a seizure just ahead of the parade’s noon start.

Those first responders completed their patient assessments and cleared the scene in time for the parade to remain on schedule.

In the absence of sunshine, it was that kind of teamwork — on the part of all involved — that cast a bright light on the parade.

A weekend post by the La Conner Firefighters Association perhaps put it best.

“What an amazing day in La Conner, celebrating this beautiful tradition with our community,” it reads. “The smiling faces and festive spirit made it one to remember.”

Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.