Three Rivers Festival parade longest in history

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The parade that unofficially launched the 44 ^th annual Three Rivers Festival was the longest in the event’s history.

About 45 more entries were featured in the parade than normal.  A total of 177 units walked the parade route Saturday morning in front of thousands of onlookers.

The parade’s theme was “Community Landmarks and Legends,” with special attention paid to troops returning from military service.

“These people defended our freedom and with them coming back, returning to normal life again it’s really important that we take care of them and salute them,” Adam Ehle, president of the Three Rivers Festival Board said.

Brandon Long, a North Side High School graduate, represented all returning troops as the parade’s grand marshal.

Long returned home to Fort Wayne in June 2011 after months of rehabilitation at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington D.C. He lost both of his legs after being hit by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in December 2010.