Yesterday was sunny and our little Town of Dillsboro was full of cheerful attendees for the 23rd Annual Easter Hat Parade.
This festival is popular with visitors and locals, people of all ages attend with their babies, their grandparents, their dogs and ferrets? Yes, ferrets...keep looking at the photos, there were three ferrets in attendance!
This lovely lady is a resident of Dillsboro and greeted me with this beautiful smile on her way to the parade grounds.
Just outside of The Kitchen Shop, the Salon and Treehouse Pottery on Front Street, I encountered the Easter Bunny...cool as a cucumber in the 80+ degree weather.
Easter Bunny gave me a big wave and hopped on down to the gathering place. Later that day, children of all ages sat with the Easter Bunny for photographs. Bet those were cute and are all traveling the internet to be shared with family members.
Down closer to the starting point and sign in area for the Parade, the Dogwood Crafters ladies had the courtyard all decorated with these pretty colored eggs and the hand held fans given out to participants.
This of course, is the very rare pink tinged beagle mix...it might be native to this area. Although, the spring green dress definitely wasn't found in one of our local stores!
This little beagle girl only gets Easter carrots to keep those pearly whites, well...white!
This is Cricket. She didn't have to travel far, she lives right here in Jackson County. Her dog Mom told me that Cricket was good as gold while her hat was being styled.
This pink is a great color for her, don't you think? Some dogs are just loved by the camera!
This is Hurricane and he's from New Orleans. You guessed it. The gentleman who was with Hurricane told me that shortly after Hurricane Katrina, he and his wife became aware of a little gray and brown dog that kept hanging around the house. But they couldn't get him to come to them. If you'll remember, Hurricane Rita visited the area about a month later. Eventually, this wonderful couple convinced Hurricane to share their home.
This man and I both felt incredible sadness for all the dogs not as lucky as little Hurricane here. We were also in awe of this little guy's courage to last as long as he did all on his own.
Life is good for Hurricane and his family now.
Sweet Lab in a cute hat with bunny ears.
How about this Yorkie in her Easter finery?
Examples of face painting artistry.
A very common occurance all day long were these great smiles on everyone's face. They were all happy to be in the mountains of North Carolina in this historic town of Dillsboro.
Check out the toppers on these little ferrets.
Not to be outdone, little Loki the ferret is sporting a jester style hat in an avant garde approach to Easter with a daring orange color.
Former Mayor Wade Wilson looking debonaire in his straw topper with the bold flower statement.
In the background is the historic Enloe House on Front Street in Dillsboro.
I kept seeing this beautiful lady all over town. She was wearing the most extraordinary "flapper" dress with fringe all over. She was perfectly accessorized with the single strand of knotted pearls and lovely bracelets.
However, what I liked best was the cheerfulness and quick smile she had. This is her car, she has a lot to smile about!
Here's a few shots of some of the participants...smiles!
It was a great day and we owe the incredible organization of the Easter Hat Parade day to Brenda Anders and the crafters of Dogwood Crafters, the longest running craft cooperative in the south.
This annual parade held in Dillsboro is just one of the many reasons that living here in Western North Carolina is so special.
Now...tell the truth, don't you wish you could have been here?
Comments(7)