ELLINWOOD — Grand Marshal Jonell Niles got her wish Saturday when the 53rd Ellinwood After Harvest Festival Parade opened with a flyover.

Chris Robl of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, piloted an award-winning F1 rocket-class racing plane named “Spirit Untamed” — capable of speeds over 230 miles per hour — over Main Street to kick off the festivities. The aircraft once belonged to his father, Craig Myron Robl, a lifelong Ellinwood wheat farmer who found his greatest freedom in the skies and who first inspired Chris to earn his pilot’s license. Saturday’s flight honored Craig’s legacy, with Chris flying the same plane that he and his father once flew together over a previous After Harvest Festival Parade.

The emotional tribute set the tone for a day built around this year’s festival theme, “Big Dreams in a Small Town,” chosen by the Ellinwood Rotary Club and the Ellinwood Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber organized much of the weekend’s broader slate of activities, while the Rotary Club took the lead on organizing the parade itself.

A Parade Full of Homecomings

About 50 entries rolled down Main Street, and class reunion floats were among the crowd favorites. The Class of 1976 marked its 50-year reunion and holds a unique distinction in Ellinwood High School history as the town’s only bicentennial graduating class. The parade’s emcee couldn’t resist a good-natured jab, joking that the class might need a little help climbing down off their float at the end of the route.

Other classes celebrated milestones of their own. The Class of 1996 celebrated its 30th reunion — and proudly noted that it holds its own piece of school history as the 100th graduating class of Ellinwood High School.

Hospital Float Takes Top Honors

This year’s overall parade winner was created by Ellinwood Hospital and Clinic, which brought a “Toy Story” theme to Main Street. Staff members dressed as beloved characters from the film, with organizers saying the theme was chosen to reflect the teamwork and compassion that guide hospital employees every day. Judges praised the float for capturing the power of dreams, friendship and community — values the hospital staff said they try to embody on and off the parade route.

Cooling Off

While the morning parade was over before temperatures reached the upper 80s, there were several instances when parade participants cooled the spectators off with water guns — and a few instances when those on the sidelines returned the favor. KanEquip Inc.’s entries included a flag-adorned combine releasing not wheat, but water.

In a break from tradition, the Ellinwood Fire Department skipped the usual candy toss from its trucks, instead handing out frozen ice pops to parade-goers along the route — a welcome treat for spectators enjoying the summer sunshine.

Saturday’s parade once again showed why Ellinwood’s After Harvest Festival remains a hometown tradition more than five decades running.