Our love affair with Wauseon began a few weeks ago when we took a day trip and stumbled upon Imagination Kingdom, where my little princesses and prince had an absolute blast!! (Read all about it HERE). Thanks to that post I have had the pure delight and pleasure of meeting some remarkable people including the Co-coordinator for the Imagination Kingdom, Bonnie Grisier, a mother and grandmother to 9 grandchildren who saw a need & made it happen, talk about a determined soul! And thanks to all you AWESOME loyal followers & readers that post really took off and I received an official invitation to Wauseon’s Homecoming from Mayor Kathy Huner and you don’t say no to the Mayor! Haha! But seriously, there would be a parade, kids’ tent, music, and more….we were totally attending!! And attend we did!!
Goodbye City, Hello Country…..
We love a parade! And what a parade! An hour and 15 minutes worth of parade, NO JOKE! Wauseon knows how to parade!!
Now this is something you don’t see in a typical “city” parade……
How do you know when the parade is over? The Sterling Cow arrives….kinda like Santa in the Thanksgiving parade.
After the parade we had the pleasure of officially meeting Mayor Kathy Huner and Bonnie Grisier…and they are even sweeter in person! It was nice to finally put a beautiful face with each of their names and chat for a little while…FYI-turns out the next BIG event on the agenda is Fulton County Fair…you’re gonna wanna mark that on your calendars folks!! Did you know they let out school in Fulton county for the fair (you better believe my kiddos were wishing they didn’t reside in Lucas county when they heard that, haha!), it is a HUGE to do!! And the Mayor had some goodies for us including these SWEET t-shirts!! I LOVE these!!
We so enjoyed our visit with Mayor Huner and Bonnie!! The people of Wauseon are SO NICE! There must be something in the water. Haha! Seriously though, every volunteer, waitress, Red Rambler baristas, even the guy emptying the trash, ALL had smiles on their faces. And they are so kind. We totally forgot to bring a bag for candy at the parade (mom fail) and this kind woman came up and had extra, one for each of my children!! How could you not fall in love with this town? After the parade we enjoy all the rest of the festivities Wauseon Homecoming had to offer including…..
Kids Tent!! This is so cool! For $5 each kiddo receives a card worth 10 activities/visits to anything in the kids tent and/or inflatables. At the end, once they have completed 10 activities they can select a prize! Talk about a GREAT deal!! And SO MUCH FUN! The activities included sand art, photo booth, duck game, face painting, inflatables, etc. It was so nice having the kids contained to one tent….not all up and down the main street….thus, us parents could actually sit for a minute and chill. SO NICE!! Thank you Wauseon!
And we took a horse drawn ride around town for only $2! The experience alone was worth the $2….but in addition to that we received a small tour. We went past the Wauseon Depot (too cute!…there is even a caboose out front!) and some cool houses…one of which was apparently part of the Underground Railroad…so I suppose we could even add history lesson to the cost….thus a tour, history lesson, and experience for only $2, SOLD!!
And the kiddos rode rides….
We had an absolute blast! Thank you so much for the magnificent memories Wauseon! We cant wait for next year’s Homecoming!!
Mom on the go in Holy Toledo 
Totally seen you guys during parade line up! Not that I anticipate you to recall me but I was the uniformed Woman Leader with the cub scouts in front of the boy scouts who marched just behind our float that was behind the people on stilts! Well anyways, I just wanted to take a moment and say “Thank you so much for coming to our community and so glad you enjoyed yourself! I too am from Toledo. As well as my husband. My in laws as well are Wauseon residents now too! We only moved out here 5 years ago. Much like your blog we were hooked and after a job promotion it only made sense for us to relocate rather than commute.” EVERYBODY LOVES THE WAUSEON HOMECOMING! Thank you again for the kind words after your visit!
Hi Kathryn!! Yes, I do remember you! My son is a Cub Scout. Last school year was his first year, so we are relatively new to Scouting but are definitely enjoying the learning process & are always on the lookout for fellow Scouts, especially in parades. That is so cool that you are a Leader! That takes a lot of time & energy; I have some mad respect for you! 😉
Wauseon is such a lovely community. The people are so kind & welcoming, the history is rich & respected, and it has that small town community connectivity. I can totally see why you got hooked!! Thank you so much for reaching out & sharing your story. We so enjoyed Wauseon Homecoming and are already looking forward to next years!! 🙂
I live in Toledo and this is why I am so proud to work at Wauseon Schools! I love the community!
Make sure you come back for the fair! You will have a great time!
Greetings Mary Jo! I checked out the tentative schedule and I must admit my interest has been piqued…I was particular curious about…Butter Carving, and Costumed Animal Contest! There are a lot of fun and interesting events planned, we can’t wait!!
I grew up in Wauseon and miss it like crazy! It’s just as friendly and fun everyday as it is during Homecoming. A wonderful place to raise kids! Do yourself a favor & return for the Fulton County fair… it’s magical 🙂
I can see why you miss it…it is such a great community!! Thank you so much for sharing….we have the Fulton County Fair on our calendar! Can’t wait to share our experiences at the Fair! Eee!! 😉
Wauseon is my hometown. Thank you for all the nice things you said about the town! It was a wonderful place to grow up! Your kids will love the Fulton County Fair!
It was my pleasure Jennifer….what a wonderful place to grow up! We can’t wait for the fair! 😉
I live in Wauseon (born here too) and Love this city! With dedicated people that also want to see their kids grow up and make them realize my home town may be small, but had great people to enjoy and make life FUN!!!! Don’t forget to come to the fair! Loved the pictures. My daughter is a swimmer and loved that you included it! The Homecoming committee did an Awesome job!! Kudos to all!!!!
Hi Wendy! The parade was just so impressive! The float looked so COOL! Looked like they took a lot of time and energy putting it together, we so enjoyed the end result, very impressive! Swimming is such a great sport, fun recreational activity, and great way to stay fit. Praying you guys get that pool in your park!! I agree, Kudos to the homecoming committee and EVERYONE involved in making Wauseon Homecoming a spectacular event! We so enjoyed ourselves & can’t wait for the fair!! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your story, your town is such a treasure thanks to people like you.
Such fantastic images of the 2015 Wauseon Homecoming Parade! Thank you for posting all of them. Did you take more? Please share them with the parade committee if appropriate.
James Kerr
Chairman, 2015 Wauseon Homecoming Parade
wauseondowntown@gmail.com
Thank you James! And thank you for such a magnificent parade, we so enjoyed it! I will go back through my pics and see if I took any more…if so I will be sure to share! 😉