The sky may have been gray, but merrymakers paid it no mind for Fall City Days.

Crowd arrived in plenty for the annual parade and community festival, taking part in dozens of activities.

Starting it off Saturday morning, June 19, the annual Fall City Days Fun Run raced through town.

Wearing gold shirts, friends and family members supported a fallen soldier during the race. The Eric Ward Team honored Mount Si High School graduate and U.S. Marine Eric L. Ward, who died in February while serving in Afghanistan.

“I am going to the finish line,” said team member Susan Stubbs, who was inspired by Ward’s winning smile.

“This kid was more giving than anybody I ever met,” she said. “I could tell you a million stories about the tricks he would play.”

Parade vikings

Following the run, the Fall City grand parade rolled through town, featuring Scout troops, mounted riders, political candidates, school buses and fire trucks.

A highlight of the parade was Snoqualmie Valley Animal Hospital’s annual dance entry. For this year, hospital staff and friends dressed up for “Viking Vets and their Dragon Pets,” decorating Fall City’s Bubbles salmon sculpture as a captured dragon, right out of the film “How to Train Your Dragon.”

“You know, dragons are hard to hold back,” said veterinarian Teri Weronko.

Hoop shoot

Middle school basketball coach Dave Tomson gave young basketball players some impromptu pointers during the first Fall City Days Three-Point Shoot Out.

“Keep your elbow tight. Put a spin on it,” he advised players, who had five shots and five chances to make the championship round in the three-pointer contest.

“Every time you shoot a basketball, it helps,” Tomson said. “Everytime you shoot a ball, you get a little bit better.”