Post Falls steps in to save longtime summer parade

City staff are stepping in to keep Post Falls’ summer parade alive after the community group that ran it said 2025 would be its final year. The move will put the city in charge of the July event, preserving a tradition that has anchored the Post Falls Festival for more than 50 years.

City Administrator Shelly Enderud said the Post Falls Community Ambassadors told the city they were done managing the parade, prompting staff to look for another community group to sponsor and run it. When no replacement emerged, city employees decided to take over the 2026 parade themselves. Councilor Joe Malloy has backed that effort, saying the parade should still happen in July.

The handoff reflects how much work now goes into a single afternoon on Seltice Way. In a March 2025 council discussion, city staff estimated about $11,000 in internal wages were being spent to support the parade, while the nonprofit’s traffic plan cost about $2,500. Officials said the existing support model had become unsustainable and was putting strain on city departments. The Post Falls Community Ambassadors, formed in 2015 after the parade was nearly canceled, had been the volunteer backbone for the past decade.

The parade has also struggled to recruit participants. In June 2025, organizers said they had only a handful of applications at that point, compared with 60 entries the year before. Val Wilcox urged community groups, military units, sports teams, dance schools and businesses to join in, underscoring how heavily the event depends on outreach and volunteer energy. In 2024, organizers said the Idaho Army National Guard helped provide traffic support at no cost.

For now, the parade remains tied to the broader Post Falls Festival, a three-day July event featuring live music, local vendors and family activities. The route begins at Frederick Street and Seltice Way and runs east to Idaho Road. Parade applications are handled through the festival organizers by email or phone.

City leaders are already looking beyond this summer. Enderud said Post Falls wants a private or community host back for future parades in 2027 and beyond, and officials have discussed the possibility of moving the route more downtown in later years. The immediate goal is simpler: keep one of Post Falls’ longest-running traditions on the calendar.

The parade also carried added civic weight in 2025, opening with a tribute to Post Falls police and Kootenai County Fire and Rescue and later including a memorial honor for Battalion Chiefs John Morrison and Frank Harwood. For a city that has already saved the parade once before, the latest takeover is another effort to keep a shared ritual from fading away.