Members of the Missouri 4-H council wave to the crowd as they make their way down Missouri State Fair Boulevard during Thursday night’s Opening Day Parade for the 114th Missouri State Fair. Nearly 100 entries were in the 2016 parade.
Presiding Commissioner David Dick waves during the politician section of the Opening Day Parade.
Missouri State Fair Boulevard outside the Pepsi Grandstand was lined with fair-goers eager to snap a photo or catch a glimpse of the nearly 100 entries in the Opening Day Parade on Thursday.
2015 Missouri State Fair Queen Destiny Reed fulfills one of her final duties as queen in the Opening Day Parade before crowning the 2016 queen during today’s ceremony at 3 p.m. in the Mathewson Exhibition Center.
Students from the American College of Hair Design in Sedalia put the Missouri State Fair’s theme, “See What Crops Up,” to good use on their creative float in the Opening Day Parade.
Riding along a colorful background, a member of the Boonslick Shrine Club in Boonville leaves bubbles in his wake as he makes his way along the end of the Opening Day Parade route Thursday evening.
Members of the Show-Me Missouri Back Country Horsemen are well represented with almost a dozen riders participating in the Opening Day Parade.
Showcasing new and old, the Missouri State Highway Patrol opened the 114th Opening Day Parade at the Missouri State Fair, keeping in tradition with being the first parade entry, on Thursday.
A member of the Ararat Shrine organization leans into one of his sharp turns as he and other members drive circles around Missouri State Fair Boulevard in the Opening Day Parade.
Members of local country band Dirt Road Addiction play a live set for the Opening Day Parade crowd on a trailer making its way down Missouri State Fair Boulevard. The band will be playing at the Budweiser Stage next weekend.
A welcome relief from the scorching temperatures Thursday, a representative of Grellner Sales in Sedalia in the passenger seat uses a water gun to shoot water at parade visitors.
A University of Central Missouri mule and its rider were among some of the last entries in the parade, the Missouri State Fair theme painted on his hindquarters. Another UCM rider accompanied this pair.
The Smith-Cotton Marching Band was the featured marching band in Thursday’s Opening Day Parade, performing from its upcoming field show “Postcards” and wearing shirts to match.












