Community comes out for carnival parade

The Winter Carnival Parade brought Homer out of hibernation starting at noon on Saturday. Braving 20-some-degree temperatures and ever-increasing snowfall, parade walkers and floats filled Pioneer Avenue with vibrant color and noise.

As the floats made their way down Pioneer Avenue and passed in front of the Bay Realty building where the judging station was located, returning parade emcee Darrel Oliver introduced this year’s participants and roused the audience crowding the sidewalks to cheer.

The order of participants this year included the Homer Volunteer Fire Department and City Mayor, Kachemak Emergency Services, Sea Tow South Central, the Homer Mariner cheer team, the Krewe of Gambrinus, Homer Drawdown and Share the Road, Pier One Theatre celebrating their 50th anniversary, SVT Wellness, the Kachemak Bay Campus Student Association’s mascot “Harmony the Whale,” Homer Chamber of Commerce, Cook Inlet Aquaculture, borough mayoral candidate Peter Micciche, the Homer Emblem Club, Homer’s Jeans celebrating 40 years of business, “Wake Up and Vote,” Japanese international exchange students with West Homer Elementary, representatives for the Special Olympics, Guardian Flight, ACE Towing, and the Homer Racing Association.

The winner of the 2023 Mr. Homer contest was Garrett Brooks, who waved to the crowd during the parade from atop the chamber’s float advertising the Homer Boat Raffle.

The winners in this year’s parade, eligible to receive either $75 or $50 in Homer Bucks depending upon the category, are:

Best of Show: Krewe of Gambrinus – $75

Best Use of Theme: SVT Health & Wellness – $75

Best Car: ACE Towing – $50

Best Performing Arts: Pier One Theatre – $50

Best Use of Animals: SVT Health & Wellness – $50

Best Children’s Group: Mariner Cheer – $75

Judges’ Favorite: Homer’s Jeans – $75

Milli Martin Award: Pier One Theatre – $75

The Millie Martin Award is a new prize category added by the chamber this year, in honor of their longest-serving volunteer, Milli Martin.

The parade judges were visitor center volunteers and chamber board members.

Photo by Delcenia Cosman Homer residents watch parade participants walk down Pioneer Avenue in the 69th Annual Winter Carnival Parade on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 in Homer, Alaska.

Pier One Theatre members march down Pioneer Avenue in the 69th Annual Winter Carnival Parade on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Delcenia Cosman

A quartet provides musical accompaniment on the Pier One Theatre float in the 69th Annual Winter Carnival Parade on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Delcenia Cosman

The SVT float makes its way down Pioneer Avenue in the 69th Annual Winter Carnival Parade on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Delcenia Cosman

The Kachemak Bay Campus Student Association march with their mascot, “Harmony the Whale,” down Pioneer Avenue in the 69th Annual Winter Carnival Parade on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Delcenia Cosman

Borough mayoral candidate Peter Micciche drives down Pioneer Avenue in the 69th annual Winter Carnival Parade on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Delcenia Cosman

Homer’s Jeans employees, celebrating 40 years of business, drive down Pioneer Avenue in the 69th annual Winter Carnival Parade on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Delcenia Cosman

The Central Kenai Peninsula League of Women Voters march down Pioneer Avenue in the 69th annual Winter Carnival Parade on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Delcenia Cosman

The Homer Racing Association drives down Pioneer Avenue in the 69th annual Winter Carnival Parade on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Delcenia Cosman

Drivers in the Homer Racing Association rumble down Pioneer Avenue in the 69th annual Winter Carnival Parade on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Delcenia Cosman