Space aliens, astronauts and crowds invade downtown Olympia

Downtown Olympia was invaded by hundreds of adorable space creatures Saturday morning for the 87th annual Pet Parade.

South Sound families, and some from as far away as New York, spent weeks preparing for the beloved parade, which this year had a “Pets in Space” theme. More than 800 participants showed off their dogs, cats, horses, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, chickens — and one pig.

“I love it,” said Maria Nardella, a spectator who said she has attended the event more than 20 years. “I love seeing the creativity and the pets.” She also said it was wonderful to see so many people out watching the parade.

The procession began at Heritage Park, traveled east on Fifth Avenue, headed south on Franklin, and ended with an ice cream celebration at Sylvester Park.

Ava Bryant said she was excited to eat the ice cream at the end of the parade. She borrowed her grandpa’s chickens for the event and helped her mother make the spaceship wagon they rode in. Although the handle of the wagon was taller than the 3-year-old, she said she was committed to pulling it herself.

Ella Saliker, 11, made costumes for the “Alien Pets in Space” crew, made up of her friends and family, as a project for her sewing class. She and her friends used plastic containers and tape to build their trilevel rolling space shuttle. Their dogs walked, and a gerbil and two guinea pigs rode in the parade.

Multiple families used the iconic film “Star Wars” as inspiration for their costumes.

The Marty family said they spent a month building their impressive Star Wars-themed X-wing fighter plane. Eight-year-old Mallie, who was dressed as Princess Leia, captained the ship and said she was excited to throw candy to spectators. The more than 6-foot-long spacecraft featured an R2-D2 replica on the back.

Mallie’s father, Robert Marty, said he hadn’t intended to make such an elaborate float, but one thing had led to another. It paid off: The float won the grand prize for an entry by a child.

One family decided to dress their horses, Midnight and Charlie, as the sun and solar system. Eight-year-old twin sisters Kaidence and Chloey Yancey said it took them a few hours to decorate and put glitter on their horses.

They said they won the grand prize last year and were trying for it again this year. They ended up with a judge’s choice prize in the pets category.

Four-year-old Molly Tedford, whose mother said she has been to the parade since before she was born, said she was nervous about being in the parade this year.

She and her sister, 6-year-old Claire, walked in the parade with their neighbor’s dog, Georgy Girl. Pam Finn, Georgy Girl’s owner, said she and the girls had practiced walking around their neighborhood to prepare for Saturday.

A few of the animal parade participants acted like they wanted to be rolling in the grass, rather than sitting in decorated wagons.

This story was originally published August 20, 2016 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Space aliens, astronauts and crowds invade downtown Olympia."