Seafair apologizes, allows Fallen Heroes banners in Torchlight Parade
Apr 21, 2014, 12:10 PM | Updated: 3:22 pm
Seafair will now allow a group that honors fallen servicemembers to participate in the annual Torchlight Parade after initially denying its application. (Fallen Hero Banner Project image)
(Fallen Hero Banner Project image)
Leaders of Seafair say they’ve taken negative feedback to heart and will now allow a military group to participate in this year’s Torchlight Parade.
Seafair originally denied the application by the Spokane-based Fallen Hero Banner Project, saying the groups banners with servicemembers killed in action was not the “right fit” for the annual parade.
But on a Facebook post, Seafair now says it will allow the banner group to accompany an existing entry.
The organization says it takes “comments and feedback on the recent Torchlight Parade story to heart.”
Seafair says it has “great respect for the mission of the organization and honor the efforts of the organization to memorialize those military heroes we have lost.”
The organization says it receives hundreds of applications each year and while it does its best to ensure diversity, the two-hour time window limits the number of entrants.
Kim Cole, the founder of the Fallen Heroes Banner Project, says she is appreciative of Seafair for allowing the group to participate. “Our Washington State Gold Star Families will be proud to have the opportunity to honor our fallen heroes in this great event.”
Cole started the Fallen Hero Banner Project to honor her son, who died in Iraq in 2007. The group now honors more than 200 men and women from Washington state who died in combat.
Seafair came under fire after notifying Cole via email “the Fallen Hero Banner Project was not the right fit for the Torchlight Parade.”
