Everyone loves a parade!

A few days of sunshine and a little spring break action does wonders for shaking off the winter blues and seems the ideal time to talk about parade season. This will be my 23rd year to organize the Post Falls Days Parade and for all of those 23 years and at least a decade prior the parade and community celebration took place the first weekend of June.

Contrary to legend, it only rained on the parade a time or two but often the weather for the three-day celebration was unpredictable at best. Last fall we brought a group together to look at options for expanding the event and the decision was made to move the Post Falls Festival to the second weekend in July from now on. So in 2013 the dates are July 12-14, the parade taking place on Saturday, July 13 with the Coeur d'Alene Casino joining Community 1st Bank and Ground Force Manufacturing as sponsors this year.

There's much excitement for the new date and additional venues as well as the involvement of a number of organizations to make it a truly community-wide celebration. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more information but the parade entry forms are ready to go. Email me, [email protected] or drop by the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce if you'd like one.

Great fun in store this weekend with the second Cowboy Ball to benefit the North Idaho Fair & Rodeo Foundation on Friday night with the incomparable Kelly Hughes Band, 772-5471 and the fourth annual Coeur d'Alene Blues Festival that also includes a dual boat Blues Cruise on Friday night and a world class blues lineup on Saturday night at The Coeur d'Alene Resort, 765-4000, ext. 21. I'll see you at both events!

The 2013 Idaho legislative session is wrapping up. Scheduled is a town hall meeting with all of our Kootenai County legislators on Saturday from 9-11 a.m. at American Legion Post 143 in Post Falls (Poleline and Syringa).

Happy 95th birthday today to Enid Nissen! Tomorrow Kathryn Eachon turns 85, sharing the date with Laura Keck, Marshall Meeks, Pappy Butler and Toni Hackwith. On Friday Sharon Stevenson, Terri McTavish, Sharon Wagner and Gail Osterson will blow out their birthday candles. Bruce Hough and Tyler Bush are Saturday birthday boys. Mary Epstein, Melaine Spalding and Eli Gonzales were born on April 7. Starting the week out with parties are Ila Aiken (104!), Amy Bartoo, Greg Prado, Kevin Kram, Patrick Hughes, Veldon Lee and Shanna Riske on Monday and Nicole Medlock, Jodi McKenzie (40!), John Hays, Kaleb Peck, Carol Graham, Marvin Erickson, Joan Phelps and Tom Messina on Tuesday.

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2013 by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri is on the air Mondays and Wednesdays on 1080 ESPN AM (KVNI). Find her on Facebook or via email [email protected].