Beads and fun plentiful at "Big Parade"

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -- They call it the "Big Parade" for a reason! Friday night, thousands of people lined up along Fourth Street in downtown Sioux City to warm up for the holiday weekend.

As usual, some of the most excited in the crowd are the kids, looking forward to the floats, clowns, and horses. Since the parade is part of Sioux City's Mardi Gras celebration, beads were the hottest item.

The festivities are inspired by Sioux City's "sister city" partnership, with Lake Charles, Louisiana.

While this is a summertime favorite for folks in Siouxland, some people in the crowd have never seen a parade like this. A handful of Western Iowa Tech students from half way around the world were pretty pumped up for their first "Big Parade." One Kenyan student is very curious about our tradition.

WIT Student Diana Kahuyna says, "The costumes. Everything is so new for me so I don't know what I'm expecting to see. I'm just open!"

KTIV broadcast the parade live on-air, and on our website. Christy Batien and Matt Breen hosted the festivities.