Boulder County Fair events kicked off at 6:30 a.m. Saturday with the smell of sizzling pancakes and the laughter and chatter of Twin Peaks Rotary Club members and residents at the ChuckWagon breakfast at Fourth Avenue and Kimbark Street.

ChuckWagon breakfast organizers danced in the cooler, early-morning air as they set things up, said Sky Bauer, a member of the Rotary Club. The money from the fair breakfast goes toward scholarships for high school students. Emily Bauer, another Rotary Club member, echoed the eearly-morning excitement.

“Oh it’s such a fun start, it’s a really exciting way to start the day,” said Emily Bauer.

The fair parade started at 10 a.m. at Roosevelt Park with the theme, “Sew ‘Em, Grow ‘Em, Show ‘Em!” and lots of livestock, dancers and marching bands. The Boulder County Fair is in its 155th year, and it’s the oldest fair in Colorado. The temperature was 85 degrees during the parade before rising to a forecast high of 97 degrees later in the day.

Events coordinator Cheryl Smith said the fair parade’s theme fit the fair to a T.

“Sew ‘Em’ would be for people who are involved with making things, ‘Grow ‘Em’ for those who raise plants or animals, and then ‘Show ‘Em’ at the fair,” Smith said. She is the events coordinator at the Longmont Kiwanis Club, which has sponsored the parade for more than 60 years.

Participants and spectators kept the parade spirit alive in the heat as organizers passed out paper fans to parade-goers.

“We see people show up here every year, and they tell us how long they’ve been coming. It’s great to see both older and younger generations,” said Rick Samson, who has been involved with the Rotary Club for 30 years and has attended the parade with his family since 1983.

Resident Laurelle Deschenes said she brought her niece to the parade, because she loves waving at the floats and getting candy.“I think it’s great because you get to know more people and get out of the house,” Deschenes said.

The high school marching band wore T-shirts instead of their usual uniforms in the face of the heat.

Rita Liu was the grand marshal for the parade this year, chosen to celebrate her role as founder and president of the Asian-Pacific Association of Longmont.

Liu was joined by her daughter, Alice Liu, a founding member of A-PAL and former Longmont Mayor Leona Stoecker.