Aside from the end of finals, college graduations and warm weather, the most commonly anticipated springtime reminder in St. Joseph is the annual Apple Blossom Parade.

Parade watchers could not have asked for a better day to spend outside on Saturday. The temperature was in the 60s, under sunny skies. A crowd in the thousands stretched along Frederick Avenue to collect candy and wave at the floats.

A total of 81 floats took part. Kenneth Rosenauer, president of the Apple Blossom Parade and Festival, said he is always pleasantly surprised by how big the parade turns out to be each year.

"It just seems to go on and on - but that's a good thing. We had more floats this year than recent years, and they were better floats," Mr. Rosenauer said. "And thank goodness, the weather turned out wonderfully."

Michelle Wolfe, the executive director of the Apple Blossom Festival Association, said she believed the broad nature of the parade theme - "St. Joe Reads" - helped boost its popularity.

"The theme helped a lot," Mrs. Wolfe said. She was particularly impressed by the Rising Son Youth Ranch's float, which featured a pirate ship theme.

Gretchen Otterberg said she attends the parade each spring, and doesn't remember the weather always being this nice.

"It's just fun for the kids," Mrs. Otterberg said. "This is awesome weather."

Nine-year-old Teagen Rich, a former student at Darcee's School of Dance, enjoyed watching the parade for a change, as she usually participates in it.

"My favorite thing is the horses, and, just laughing at them," Teagen said. "We like to be stupid at parades, too."

Darren Hinesoey, a member of the St. Joseph Paranormal Society, participated in the parade for the first time, as he just recently moved to St. Joseph. While he was impressed by the number of floats, he was more amused by the large crowd and positive energy.

"I was more surprised by the crowds and the kids," Mr. Hinesoey said. "It was a really good experience."

Parade floats included entries from the Allied Arts Council, Heartland Health, Friends of the Shelter, Roberts' Dairy, Darcee's School of Dance, St. Joseph School District All-City Marching Band, St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce Diplomats Club, Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph Paranormal Society, Special Olympics Missouri, St. Joseph Public Library, Davidson Classic, Museum Hill, Rising Son Youth Ranch and many others.

Each parade entrant worked hard, organizers said, and five awards were given out: Rising Son Youth Ranch, best float; Allied Arts Council, runner-up; Museum Hill, third place; Davidson Classic, best vintage vehicle; and Friends of the Shelter, most creative use of the theme.

As part of the festivities, the Apple Blossom Barbecue Cook Off continued on Saturday, drawing hundreds of people ready to eat contest-worthy barbecue. Event organizer Tom Supple said there were 50 contest entries, consisting of teams from all over the country.

"We had a great turnout from the public," Mr. Supple said.

KCBS Barbecue representative Kim Collier said the number of entries has doubled in the last three years.

"It's awesome, it's fun and they raise money for good charities," Mrs. Collier said.

The overall winner of the cook-off was JP Custom Smoke. First-place winners in each category were The Heat is On, chicken; JP Custom Smoke, pork ribs; Boondoggle BBQ, pork; Bare Bones BBQ, brisket; and Iowa Smokey D's BBQ, pork loin.