Healdsburg Twilight Parade to kick off 74th annual Future Farmers Country Fair Thursday

Healdsburg’s Twilight Parade, which gets rolling at 6 p.m. Thursday, will kick off the 74th annual Future Farmers Country Fair, and the first fully in-person version since 2019.

The free, three-day event will include livestock shows and sales, live music and contests at Recreation Park. This year’s theme is “2023 — Red, White, and Blue — Animal Jamboree.”

The fair is the culmination of the work of youth grades seven to 12 who raised livestock with the help of Future Farmers of America and 4-H adult leaders, said Brad Petersen, president of the board of directors for the Future Farmers Country Fair.

The bulk of last year’s $913,000 in livestock sales went toward FFA and 4-H youth exhibitors and scholarships.

The parade starts near St. John the Baptist Catholic Church at Matheson and East streets. It will loop north toward Piper Street before it heads south on Fitch Street where it ends near Matheson and First streets.

After the parade there will be live music and the Swan Brothers Circus at Recreation Park.

The fair continues Friday and Saturday at Recreation Park.

You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer Sawhney at 707-521-5346 or jennifer.sawhney@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @sawhney_media.