There were plenty of old and new fire engines Children of all ages loved the parade

ELLENVILLE – There was plenty of bright sun and a lot of red, white and blue Saturday at the Hudson Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association Parade.

The southern Ulster County village of Ellenville hosted the parade, which featured 85 volunteer companies from throughout the Hudson Valley, and many musical formations, including fife and drum corps and a brass band.

George Simpson, 43-year member of the Napanoch Fire Department, was watching the parade along Canal Street near Wawarsing Town Hall.

“It’s great,” he said. “We worked a lot for it, and it shows the people that we have something to be proud of.”

Simpson has fought his share of fires, and he now serves as a member of his department’s fire police. He also gets a chance once and while to sit back and enjoy the fire service pageantry.

“I enjoy being a part of the fire company, “he said, “and I’m proud of it.”

Off Canal Street, near the village post office, Glenn Quick was selling raffle tickets for an ATV, a sweepstakes sponsored by American Legion Post 111. Quick thinks the parade will give the village a needed economic boost.

“We are glad they picked our town for it this year,” he said.