Photo by deb Gau Kids rush up to get misted by a city of Marshall water truck during the Sounds of Summer parade on Saturday.

MARSHALL — The scene in downtown Marshall was a little bit unusual for the Sounds of Summer parade. While there were plenty of people lining Main Street, almost everyone was gathered on the south side of the street, where there was more shade.

And while kids scrambled to catch candy tossed from the parade floats, they also ran to get sprinkled with water from a Marshall parks department truck.

“It was a hit,” said Marshall Parks and Recreation Superintendent Preston Stensrud. Stensrud was walking behind the water truck, and misting parade-goers with the hose.

City staff had planned on having the truck in the parade, “But when we saw it was going to be so hot, we thought maybe we should spray water,” he said.

While temperatures in Marshall got into the 90s on Saturday, it didn’t stop people from coming out to Sounds of Summer events like the parade and outdoor concerts.

By the time Sounds of Summer headliners the Fabulous Armadillos took the stage Saturday night, things had cooled down and the crowd was ready to have some fun.

“The Armadillos are the best band around,” said one person looking forward to the concert and street dance.

There was plenty for kids and families to do on Saturday as well. Kids bounced their way through inflatables or competed in the pedal tractor pull like Lincoln Coudron. Coudron said besides doing the pedal pull, he saw the parade and got a big haul of goodies.

“I got way too much candy,” Coudron said.

Another group of people having fun during Sounds of Summer were the Marshall High School graduating class of 1973. More than 150 members of the class of ’73 were celebrating their 50th reunion in Marshall over the weekend.

“We had people come from all corners of the United States,” said Bud Olsen, a member of the class of 1973 and one of the “facilitators” of the reunion. Olsen said it worked out well to have the MHS reunion during Sounds of Summer weekend. “We wanted to be part of the community.”

Alumni gathered at Independence Park on Friday evening, and on Saturday some alumni even braved the heat to ride on a float in the Sounds of Summer parade.

“It’s nice to see all the people out there having a good time,” said Jim Odland, who rode on the alumni float. Odland said it was also fun to see the way the community had grown. “Marshall really has thrived.”

“The whole (reunion) committee did an amazing job,” Odland said of the reunion. “The parade was just the icing on the cake.”