By Reid Forgrave
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Asya Burkart, 3, of Cheviot dances on Harrison Avenue in Cheviot during the Harvest Home Parade Thursday. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

CHEVIOT - Scenes from the grandest west side tradition, Thursday's Harvest Home Parade:

"Get yer balloons here!"

Vendors stream down the route under a clear blue sky, selling American flags, water, hot dogs. A man wears a T-shirt with an anatomical reference and pets his bulky English bulldog, Buster.

A miniature cannon booms, signaling the parade's start.

Politicians mingle with war veterans and law enforcement officials. Politicians wave and yell to people they know in the crowd. Crowds give hearty applause to members of the 82nd Airborne Division marching in fatigues ("Yea, military!"). Church groups pass out bottled water to greedy hands.

It's a big-time parade - officials guess more than 10,000 people attend yearly - with a small-town feel. It's a place where God, country and community are the trinity of faith.

Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis Jr. (and the 12-foot-tall inflatable doll of him) brings out his entire arsenal, including helicopters, mounted patrols, paddy wagons and a K-9 unit with a barking German shepherd in back.

A convertible with an English springer spaniel follows, with a sign: "Webster the Singin' Dog for Mayor of Cheviot." The dog appears asleep.

The Shriners from the Syrian Temple of Cincinnati steal the show for a good while: the Leapin' Lena clown car spins in circles; the half-dozen red, gleaming, roaring mini-Corvettes jet in and out in a serpentine formation; the Syrian Oriental Band squeaks out tunes.

Mary Ann Merk, 72 of Bridgetown, sits along Harrison Avenue. She has a broken leg, but that won't stop her - she's been here 40 years in a row. "You have to do it - every year. You can't miss it," Merk said. "I brought my kids, now I bring my great-grand kids."

Now that's the west side.

E-mail rforgrave@enquirer.com