Post Falls vows to save parade

Post Falls staff are working to save the 2026 Post Falls parade. 

City Administrator Shelly Enderud said after the Post Falls Community Ambassadors said 2025 would be their final year managing the parade, city staff sought a community group to manage and sponsor the annual event.  

They didn't find one.

Instead, city staff are rising to meet that need.

City Councilor Joe Malloy said he supports staff efforts to ensure the parade happens in July.

“We definitely don’t want to see it die, especially on the 250th anniversary, so as a transition plan, I think it’s great to have city staff be involved,” Malloy said. 

Mayor Randy Westlund said he was relieved council members also wanted the city to “step in and save it."

Westlund said talks about parade planning have been underway for more than a year.

“One of the themes was trying to make sure that we’re not going to spend a lot of taxpayer dollars to fund a parade that’s hosted by another organization,” Westlund said.  

Enderud said the community ambassadors provided staff with an estimated cost of about $4,200 for the last parade.

“Post Falls Community Ambassadors are being very helpful in handing everything over to us,” Enderud said.

As a representative of the ambassadors, Scot Haug said the parade has been a staple of Post Falls for more than 50 years.

“The Post Falls Community Ambassadors, who have proudly organized the parade for the past decade, are excited to see the city stepping in to take it over this year,” Haug said. “It’s an important tradition for our community, and this transition helps ensure it continues and stays strong moving forward.” 

The ambassadors said increasing logistical requirements led them to step away from overseeing the parade.

One of the staff's hopes is to rework the parade route to be based more downtown, but that's further down the road.

“We do hope to have a host for the parade for future parades: 2027 and beyond,” Enderud said.