Vicksburg Main Street Direct Kim Hopkins said the crowd was bigger than it’s been in a long time.

“I think we ended up with 42 or 43 entrants,” she said. “All of the krewes were just so much fun this year. They all were very high-spirited and had a great attitude.”

Hopkins said it was a joy for her to be a part of the parade, riding a city golf cart down the route.

“The crowd was great all the way down,” she said. “I thought it was a terrific parade, and I just want to thank all of the participants and everyone who came out and supported the parade.”

Robyn Lea of Robyn Lea State Farm was surprised and excited to learn she won best throws.

“It’s probably because I had so much,” she said of the beads she was throwing out along the route. “It’s always good to win something.” Lea won for having the most original float last year.

“I think it’s the biggest crowd we’ve ever had,” she said. “The weather was so perfect, and with the gumbo cook off going on at Southern Cultural Heritage Center right after, I thought it was such a perfect day.”

Lea said she loved every minute of the parade.

“Usually when we turn on to Washington there’s just a smattering of people,” she said. “There were a lot more people this year, well before we got to South Street even. Everybody just looked so happy.”

Lea said she’s glad to live in Vicksburg and be able to take part in the annual event.

“It’s so nice to have stuff like that to take families to,” she said. “My employees were there and they brought their families, and we just had a blast.”

The Vicksburg YMCA, a first-time competitor, took home the award for most enthusiastic.

“It feels awesome,” YMCA’s Mille Wolfe said. “I can’t wait for next year.”

Wolfe said the whole event was so much fun and a great excuse to have fun with everyone outside of the office.

“The best part of it was there were so many families involved,” she said. “Phillip’s (Doiron) kids were there, my kids were there, Ayesha Davis’ child was there, so we really got not only the Y staff together, but we included their families and that made it amazing.”

Other awards were best business, Sheffield Rentals; best in show, Danny Hearn Trucking; best civic club, Elk’s Club; best nonprofit, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; most original, Peter Hall who had an old Volkswagen bus on a trailer; best throw, Robyn Lea State Farm; and best recreational, tractors.