2008 Grand Marshal

Sue Harrison

CEDAR SPRINGS, Mich., Feb. 11, 2008 – The Red Flannel Festival proudly named lifelong Cedar Springs resident Sue Harrison as the 2008 Grand Marshal for the 69th Annual Celebration, to be held on Saturday, October 4, 2008. 

“The Festival is extremely proud of the many years of outstanding dedication of Sue Harrison,” said Michele Tracy Andres, President of the Festival. “Her fabulous community service in several organizations, and her exemplary volunteerism for the Festival are very impressive and just what we look for in a Red Flannel Grand Marshal. It’s very obvious Sue loves her community and the Red Flannel Festival!”

Harrison has been a prominent volunteer or the Festival, announcing the Red Flannel Grand Parade in all types of weather for the past 17 years, as well as directing the 1979 and 1980 Red Flannel Queen Pageant. Sue is a charter member of the Community Players, a local theatre group since 1971, acting or directing in almost every production. She is a member of the Cedar Springs Women’s Club and a singer and director of the United Methodist Church Choir for over thirty years. Harrison has been active in the Cedar Springs Historical Society, and participates in the Annual Cemetery Walk on Memorial Day. She is also a member of the “Sweet Adeline’s” Grand Rapids based singing group and has been a mentor for the Rotary Strive Program. In addition, Sue co-authored the “Cedar Springs Story” published in 1976. She has a Master’s degree from Central Michigan University and was a Cedar Springs High School teacher for several years as well.

In 1936, a New York writer bemoaned that, "…we are in the midst of an old- fashioned winter and there are no red flannels in the USA ..."An editorial in The Cedar Springs Clipper announced town merchants had red flannels.  When it was picked up by The Associated Press, orders came in from all over the country!  Because of the famous “drop-seaters" and the area’s lumbering history, a "RED FLANNEL DAY" was planned for the fall of 1939.  Volunteers continue to keep the Red Flannel Festival tradition alive and it continues to be an annual fall event for 69 years, always held the first Saturday in October. This year’s festival will be held the last weekend in September and the first weekend in October, with Red Flannel Day on October 4, 2008.