After plans for a virtual event fell through last year due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the Aberdeen Founders Day parade goes live Saturday on Market Street.

“This would have been our eighth annual parade and festival but due to COVID, it’s our seventh,” said Ryan Rowe of GH Wine Sellars, one of the event organizers.

Founders Day is the annual celebration of Sam Benn, the settler who established the city of Aberdeen in 1868. Benn’s birth date was July 2, and the parade traditionally occurs on the Saturday on or prior to the Fourth of July.

The parade begins at noon and will wind through downtown until about 1:30 p.m. The number of entries is down from previous years, as you’ll likely see at most events this summer, because of the uncertainty surrounding pandemic restrictions.

Still, “The parade will be live with fun and colorful entries,” said Rowe.

There will be a number of vendors open for business with a wide variety of wares between noon and 4 p.m. on Broadway Street.

“The vendor area will be filled with food trucks, a henna tattoo artist, and wonderful craft items,” said Rowe.

At 2 p.m., local award-winning author Jeff Burlingame will be at the Aberdeen Timberland Library to sign copies of his latest book, and will have a downtown sidewalk star dedicated to him.

The city shuts down portions of some streets for the event, including Market Street from Jefferson Street to I Street from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and Broadway Street from Heron Street to Wishkah Street from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The daily world | File photo After the 2020 event was canceled, the Aberdeen Founders Day parade is back on the list of summer events, heading down Market Street starting at noon Saturday.