FESTIVE SPIRIT — The Macdonald Pipe Band of Pittsburgh was one of many units in the Follansbee Community Days Parade, which kicked off the second day of a three-day festival that included a variety of food, music and fun. -- Warren Scott

FOLLANSBEE — For 30 years, Follansbee Community Days has brought together the many tastes, sounds and sights of summer.

This year, the three-day festival included a parade on Main Street, a classic car and motorcycle show at Lyle’s Auto, bounce houses for children at the city’s softball field and an assortment of food and live music at the Community House parking lot capped off with a fireworks display on Sunday night.

Visitors could dine on pizza, hot dogs, steak sandwiches and ice cream, among other foods, while listening to music from various eras, from 1950s doo wop to 1970s disco and funk.

The entertainers and pyrotechnics were supported by donations from many local businesses, city funds allocated by Follansbee City Council and fundraisers held earlier by a volunteer committee led by Tom Ludewig.

Many lined Main Street on Saturday to view a parade that kicked off the day’s festivities.

LOCAL FAVORITE — The Brooke High School Marching Band helped to kick off the Follansbee Community Days Parade with its performance of the national anthem and closed out the procession along Main Street. -- Warren Scott

The West Virginia University Mountaineer mascot opened the procession with a shotgun start, followed by the Brooke High School Marching Band’s rendition of the national anthem.

Among the parade’s many units were the Tri-State Young Marines’ color guard, a float with giant rubber ducks inspired by the Wellsburg Kiwanis Club’s recent Duck Derby event and another depicting a colorful flower garden carrying the staff of Hood’s and Traubert’s pharmacies, family and friends.

Members of the Steubenville Shrine Club rode in various vehicles, including a float with a giant, rotating fez, while the Macdonald Pipe Band of Pittsburgh delivered the wailing sound of Scottish bagpipes.

Patience Steele of Follansbee was among those who walked up to the Community House lot after the parade for a bite to eat.

Accompanied by her daughters, Emily and Iris, Steele said, “We come to Community Days every year, but this was the first time we went to the parade.”

She and her daughters agreed the Brooke High School Dance Team was their favorite part of the parade.

“They were really good, all of them,” said Steele.

Another local resident, Marlene Warman, said she and her family have regularly attended the festival.

“We’ve lived in Follansbee a long time. When our kids were little, we brought them to the parade. They called it the candy parade,” she said, noting the large number of lollipops, Tootsie Rolls and other sweets dispensed by its participants.

Warman said Community Days is a great time to catch up with old friends.

“You see people you haven’t seen since high school. It’s nice,” she said, adding, “And the (singing) groups and fireworks are fantastic.”

Jim Lilly of Follansbee expressed similar sentiments.

“I come to see everyone. There are people I haven’t seen in years.”