The Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade was abuzz with excitement as people gathered in central Phoenix with hot beverages, blankets and chairs.
This year’s parade theme was “A New Era,” which acknowledged the transition to an expanded college football playoff and marked the Fiesta Bowl organization’s rebranding as the Fiesta Sports Foundation.
But on Saturday, it was the parade’s tradition — the 52nd time the parade has been held — that some attendees cherished.
“This is just the parade that wraps up the holiday season in a lot of ways,” said attendee Annie DeGraw. “It’s such a good way to finish off the holidays and put the period on Christmas.”
The parade preceded the Dec. 31 Fiesta Bowl playoff quarterfinal between Penn State and Boise State at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
This year’s grand marshal was 2011 NCAA Wrestling Champion Anthony Robles, a graduate of Mesa High School and Arizona State University.
Robles, born with one leg, was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame and the ASU Sports Hall of Fame. A movie about him, “Unstoppable,” was recently released.
The parade kicked off with jets streaking above Central Avenue.
Sandy Fox and Patricia Barker looked up in awe. “Look, Sandy!” Barker pointed.
Barker said she has attended the Fiesta Bowl Parade for the past 10 years but considered this year special because it was her granddaughter’s first.
“We just kept it a tradition with Christmas and the Fiesta Bowl. Our kids are up and grown, and now we’re bringing the grandkids,” Barker said.
The parade route covered 2 miles. It went south on Central Avenue from Montebello Avenue to Camelback Road. Then, it turned east to Seventh Street before finally turning south to Minnezona Avenue.
“It’s just that sense of people and talking and just enjoying each other’s company,” Barker said.
Fox, a regular Fiesta Bowl Parade attendee, said as a former band kid, her favorite thing about the parade every year was the marching bands.
She played clarinet — “a licorice stick, we called it” — throughout high school. Her grandson, she said, followed in her footsteps and joined the marching band, too.
“The parade is a highlight of the end of the year,” Fox said.
Reporter Meredith G. White contributed.
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