Family, floats, fun kick off month-long celebration during DeSoto Children's Parade in Sutton Park

PALMETTO -- Conquistadors and queens ran loose in Sutton Park in Palmetto on Friday for the annual DeSoto Children's Parade, the kickoff to a month-long celebration.

The annual parade challenged teams of children from Manatee County schools and community organizations to create a float under the theme of "Royal Family," to pay homage to the Hernando DeSoto royal family and to mark the start of the DeSoto Heritage Festival. Bayshore Elementary School took home the top prize, winning $1,000 from Riverhouse Reef and Grill for Best Use of Theme.

"Is this for real?" kindergarten teacher Kelly Powell shouted when she heard about the prize.

Bayshore students made their own version of the San Cristobal ship, had a queen's court and fashioned their own helmets out of tinfoil. To top it off, they performed a quick routine for the judges to Barbara Streisand's "Don't Rain on My Parade."

More than 60 Bayshore students participated, with more than 130 people total coming together from the school community, said Robin Baker, a paraprofessional at the school. Powell and Baker led the effort from the school.

"This is huge," Baker said of the award. "This'll help with whatever the kids need."

In addition to Bayshore's prize, Miller Elementary was deemed most imaginative, Palma Sola Elementary won awards for most colorful and school spirit, Stewart Elementary won over the crowd to claim the most crowd pleasing award, best cheerleading team performance went to Elite Starz, the dance team from Tara Elementary took home best team performance and Laugh-N-Learn Academy, a daycare, won an award for best use of theme.

For Miller's float, students held trumpets with the names of each year's Hern, Queen and Princess on them. Sydney Bileth, an 11-year-old fifth-grade student at Miller, unwrapped a scroll and read a special proclamation. Getting down the speech took a lot of practice and preparation, she said, but she wasn't nervous when the time came. Her favorite part of the parade is the atmosphere, she said.

"When everyone is screaming and having fun," she said.

The parade serves as a special learning opportunity for the students, said Principal Scott Boyes, allowing them to learn more about the historical society and what they do for the community.

Plus, it's fun.

"How many opportunities do we have in our lifetime to be in a parade?" he said.

Rolling through in their own ship and loudly chanting "Palma Sola" over and over again, the school's spirit was hard to miss Friday, with emcees Samantha Solie, a 2005 member of the DeSoto Queen's Court, and Maverick Johnson, from CTQ 92.1, jokingly asking the students where they went to school. The parade is a great way for the school to show off, Principal Jennie Grimes said.

"It shows all the pride in our school," she said.

For Stewart, the parade helps bring the school community together, with a strong group of parents helping each year, assistant principal Joe Hougland said.

"It's just such a big event," he said.

All the floats created and showcased Friday will also get to participate in the Grant Parade along Manatee Avenue on April 30, said Erik Marshall, the chairman of the children's parade. In the past, the parade's theme has been Hernando DeSoto and the kids have always loved dressing up for those parts. Choosing a royal family theme felt like a natural extension.

"It keeps it all tied in," he said.

Sitting on the curb directly across from the judge's table, 62-year-old Cindy Mozeleski took in the parade for the first time in a decade. She was joined by her 3-year-old grandson Wyatt Rowell for the festivities. The Bradenton resident used to attend the parade every year when her three children were growing up. Her youngest is now 26 so she hasn't been in quite some time. With a young grandson like Wyatt -- who was looking forward to getting in a bounce house at party in the park after the parade -- the opportunity has presented itself for Mozeleski to attend the parade again.

"This is for the kids. It's a family fun day for the kids," she said.

Sitting just down the way from her, the Waltz family, also of Bradenton, agreed. Billy, 41, and Chrissy, 36, brought 9-year-old Dakota and 2-year-old Ayden down to watch the parade for the second year in a row. Dakota is a third-grade student at Bayshore and wanted to cheer on his fellow classmates.

"This is about family, just being with the family," Billy said.

Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter@MeghinDelaney.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Family, floats, fun kick off month-long celebration during DeSoto Children's Parade in Sutton Park ."