Parade officials wearing furrowed brows and and frowns waved frantically for him to catch up to the marching band ahead further down the street. 

However, despite the official’s angry urgency, he was the star of the 81st Harvest of Harmony. This annual parade passes through Railside, Grand Island, Nebraska’s, historic Downtown district, the first Saturday of October. 

His golden fur undulated as it strode along the parade route between groups of reverberating bass drums pounded on by high school marching bands. As children lining the sidewalks saw him walking up the street, they pointed and shouted with excitement, “It’s Bigfoot!” (Or in a couple of instances, “It’s Chewbacca!”). 

Bigfoot’s popularity was the pain point for the parade officials. So many of the people along the route wanted to shake his hand and take a selfie with the furry celebrity that produced a 500’ parade vacancy, much to the chagrin of event organizers.

Brad the Bigfoot, shy as he might be, made the trip into the city for the parade to help promote the Nebraska Bigfoot Conference. The two-day event will happen at Fonner Park, April 26-27. It’s just one of many events at the Fonner Park campus throughout the year. 

The campus’ Heartland Events Center hosts all kinds of entertainment including concerts, monster trucks, rodeo, sporting events, and more. The Fonner Park race track hosts live thoroughbred racing from February into May. The Nebraska State Fair uses all 200 acres every August, and when the fair barns aren’t being used by the state or county fair they’re often used for regional or national livestock shows, trade shows, or sporting events.