Gowanda Small Town Times

Photo: This float from Ensering Hopes & Dreams captured 1st Place for floats in the Gowanda 175th Anniversary Parade.

Over the weekend of August 11-13, 2023 Gowanda celebrated the 175th Anniversary of the village. Featured among the numerous weekend events were a social gathering at Gowanda’s Hollywood Theater, a time capsule ceremony, a grand parade and musical performances at Hillis Field.

The event, named “Gowanda Alive - After 175”, was coordinated by the Gowanda Area Chamber of Commerce. Leading off the celebration on Friday night was a Spirit of Gowanda Cocktail Soiree held at the Hollywood Theater. With a background presentation of vintage Gowanda photos and videos, the soiree featured food, drinks and a basket raffle. There was even a champagne toast to Gowanda Past, Present and Future.

Saturday morning found a small gather at Gowanda’s Chang-Hu Park for a time capsule ceremony. Several well known individuals from the Gowanda area spoke of their memories of growing up and living in Gowanda. That was followed by a ceremonial “burial” of a time capsule to be opened during the Gowanda Sesquicentennial in 2048.

After the time capsule ceremony, a Grand Parade with slightly under 60 units made its way down West Main Street. Special recognition was given to parade participants in several categories. Gowanda American Legion #409 took 1st place for marching group with Collins Correctional taking 2nd. The parade featured many impressive floats. Taking top honors among them was Enserling Hopes & Dreams (pictured above) with a Roaring ’20s theme. The 2nd Place float was from Perrysburg Baptist Church. The Gowanda Hollywood Theater had the 3rd Place entry despite having a float replica of the theater entrance complete with an animated marquee. There was also a category for classic vehicles in the parade. Gaining top recognition among these were Norri Luther - ‘62 Corvette (1st), Dan Gernatt Jr. - Antique #1 (2nd) and Matt Smuda - ‘64 Dodge Truck (3rd). The Gowanda High School Marching Band claimed 1st Place in the Arts & Entertainment category. A group of dancers from Danza Performing Arts took 2nd Place followed by a group of Gowanda Kiwanis Club sponsored Irish Dancers from the Rince Na Tiarna school. The name of the Buffalo-area school is Gaelic for ‘Lord of the Dance’. Top prizes for fire trucks were scattered among the local fire departments. Those honors went to Gowanda Fire Department Truck #1 (1st Place), Collins Fire Department Truck #4 (2nd Place) and Versailles Truck V-7 (3rd Place). Recognized with a 1st Place award in the Farthest Distance category was the Mighty St. Joes Drum & Bugle Corps. from Canada.

The Saturday night capper event was a program at Hillis Field. Following up their parade appearances with longer performances were the the GCS Marching Band, the Mighty St. Joes Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps. and the Danza Performing Arts dancers. Also appearing at Hillis Field were the White Pine Singers & dancers performing traditional Native American dances.