A pandemic has interrupted Washington state’s longest-running community festival, but that didn’t stop its Grand Marshal from a bit of tongue-in-cheek pageantry this past weekend.

Phil Castell, founder of Castell Insurance Agency, held a small, one-car parade on May 9 to mark the originally scheduled day of the 125th Sequim Irrigation Festival Grand Parade.

The parade and most festivities for Sequim’s largest annual civic festival

have

been postponed until October, with state leaders mandating a ban on large gatherings in place.

Castell said he wanted to share some fun and joy during a difficult time, bringing the mini parade — complete with two police vehicle escorts — for his staffers, most of whom he hasn’t seen for the past six weeks, as they now all work remotely.

“I’m still looking forward to October … (but) I didn’t want a the day to go by without some recognition,” he said.

The parade, held at 10 a.m. Saturday, was a couple of hundred yards and over in a matter of minutes. Castell took to the parade route in a Jaguar XK8, driven by owner Jodie Coulson and her daughter Ruby, a Sequim High sophomore.

“I was so nervous!” Castell remarked following the “festivities.”

Phil Castell, the 2020 Irrigation Festival Grand Parade marshal, waves to a small gathering on what would have been the festival’s parade day on May 9. With the festival postponed until October, Castell hosted the small, one-car parade to mark the original day of the Grand Parade. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell