A Duluth anti-war veterans group plans to be in about a dozen more area parades this year, instead of wasting time and money in court battling two communities that barred the group from their parades.
On Tuesday, the Veterans for Peace Chapter 80 group will drive its float in Aurora and Gilbert parades, followed Wednesday by an appearance in Superior's parade.
There the float will be in the back of the 120 parade entries.
But the placement has nothing to do with the group's politics, parade co-organizer Bill Andrews promised.
Float organizers simply didn't apply to be in the parade until after the deadline, so putting them in the back is standard policy, he said.
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"We turn down no one," Andrews said.
The group successfully rode in the same Superior Fourth of July parade last year, without incident.
Until the group was "uninvited" from the Land of the Loon parade in Virginia on June 16, the group had been in more than a dozen parades without any controversy or rejections.
After accepting the anti-war group, the Virginia parade organizers later rescinded an invitation, saying they didn't want political floats in the parade. Other veterans groups were allowed to walk in the parade.
Organizers for the June 24 Musky Festival parade in Hayward, Wis., also requested that the peace group not attend.
This year, the parade was devoted to honoring a local soldier wounded in Iraq.
"We decided it was appropriate not to go anyway," said Gary Sorenson, president of the local Veterans for Peace chapter.
In both cases, Sorenson said his crew decided that it was more important to move on than drag the issue out in court.
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"We're going to try again next year," he said.
The float that Sorenson's crew brings to each event consists of a pickup truck with a sign that shows the number of American dead in Iraq. The truck tows a large trailer with a sign saying, "For Children, For Veterans, For Mothers, For the Planet, No More War."
The news that a few towns rejected the group didn't surprise national Veterans for Peace Communications Director Gabriela Inderwies, who said other Veterans for Peace groups have been routinely rejected from parades across the country.
"It happens a lot," she said.
But when they're actually in the parade, most onlookers say nothing or cheer them, Sorenson said.
There's normally one person per parade who will scream at the group or actively say something in opposition to them, he said.
"By far, the most response we get is positive," Sorenson said.
PATRICK GARMOE covers the Duluth community and city government. He can be reached weekdays at (218) 723-5229 or at pgarmoe@ duluthnews.com.
