Val Forsythe maybe cut it a little close this year, she didn’t set up the nylon chairs for her family until 4 p.m..

&uot;It’s kind of nuts,&uot; she said. &uot;We never had to do it before.&uot;

But driving down Bridge Avenue Thursday morning and seeing it lined with vacant chairs, reservations on who sits where, she decided her family would have dibs on a stretch about five blocks north of Fountain Lake which became shady by the time American Legion passed by.

She made jokes about the thieves stealing the chairs, some that had been there since 6 a.m., or the city rolling by and throwing them away.

But she said the reservations show the enthusiasm people have for their hometown.

Many considered it the highlight of the year. An estimated 20,000 people arrived and many watched their friends and neighbors and relatives chuck Tootsie Rolls and lollipops to expectant children. Forsythe, a para-professional, came to see her current and past students participate in the parade in marching bands and floats.

For many the size of the parade was really a display of community involvement and spirit. The enormity of the parade made Henry Halverson, 75, proud of his city.

&uot;If it brings in 20,000 people its got to be good,&uot; he said.

His chairs were set up at about noon Thursday.

He said the parade gave the city a needed boost, particularly after Premium Pork, a company which considered Albert Lea for its new pork plant, announced Thursday they would not come to the city.

&uot;We’ve had a few disappointments, but this is a happy, not a sad, event,&uot; he said.

Jim Stoen said that the parade brings people together and, brings out a real sense of community.

&uot;We like the bands, and the floats. The kids like the candy and we can sneak the candy,&uot;

he said.

He was joined by four generations of his wife’s family. He said in a time when family traditions are disappearing, this parade offers families and the community a way to see one another. His wife’s father set up chairs at 8:30 a.m.

Stoen said his family sits in the same spot every year, on the hill about two blocks from New Denmark Park.

And if everything is as he said, they’ll be back next year.