Recognition

Best Processions, Readers Digest

America loves its parades. Among the more than 50,000 flag-waving, baton-twirling, band-marching celebrations of community spirit every year, here are six we can't resist:

1. Procession of the Species Celebration, Olympia, Washington: The only people having more fun than the 3,000 nature lovers in flower and animal costumes every April may be the 30,000 spectators taking it all in.

2. Midnight Independence Day Parade, Gatlinburg, Tennessee: These revelers can't wait till the Fourth, so they start the night before, with entertainment in the streets. At midnight, the main event kicks off with bands and giant balloons.

3. Alaska Day Festival, Sitka, Alaska: On October 18, 1867, the U.S. acquired "the last frontier" from the Russians. To mark the anniversary, men grow period-worthy beards and women wear hoopskirts and bonnets.

4. Golf Cart Parade, Palm Desert, California: In this self-appointed golf capital of the world, the carts make perfect floats - and may arrive at this October spectacle decked out like a Cadillac Escalade or Bob Hope.

5. The Coldest, Loudest, Shortest Chinese New Year Parade in the World, Butte, Montana: Ten-degree temperatures don't stop this city from honoring its Chinese community every year. A gigantic multicolored dragon, a gift to the state from the people of Taipei, leads the way; for the finale, 10,000 firecrackers usher in the New Year.

6. Barkus Parade, New Orleans, Louisiana: Canines get their own event during Mardi Gras. Past themes include Joan of Bark and Tails from the Crypt, with registration proceeds going to animal shelters.