Petunia Festival announces parade winners

DIXON – The 2023 Petunia Festival parade was on Sunday. This year’s theme was “Family Game Day.”

The 70-unit parade started an hour late after rain spread across portions of Lee County earlier in the day. With a new start time of 2 p.m. instead of 1 p.m., parade faithfuls along the route wiped off their chairs, wrung out their blankets and sat back for two hours of free fun and lots of candy.

Here are the winners from this year’s event.

Best Use of Theme: Sauk Valley Bank. Honorable Mention, St. Anne’s and Knights of Columbus.

• Most Enthusiastic: Drummfitters. Honorable Mention, Discover Dixon.

• Best Entry by a Business: Freedom Motorsports. Honorable Mention, Borg Warner.

• Best Float: Garden Club. Honorable Mention, Dixon Park District.

• Best Performance: DHS Cheerleaders. Honorable Mention, Dixon Municipal Band.

• Best Entry by a Community Group: Cub Scout Pack 85. Honorable Mention, YMCA.

• Just Because The Judges Loved Them: Jeep Girls Outlaw. Honorable Mention, Abiding Word Church.