There'll be a parade, but this year there won't be a parade party.

This Saturday afternoon, expect to see plenty of 18-wheelers roaring haphazardly down Oak and Culbertson Streets, because it's Harvest Homecoming parade day. Spring Street is the parade route, and Main Street remains closed for additional deforestation as it is, and is not, transformed into NOT a bike path, NOT an impediment to speeding vehicles of all sizes, and NOT at all what it's cracked up to be, millions of dollars later, but what the hell -- it wasn't OUR money, was it?

Previewing the colorful floats on lovely residential Spring Street at this year's Harvest Homecoming parade.

Perhaps Harvest Homecoming's orange-clad downtown monopolists will bow to the reality of Spring Street as city hall's preferred "Interstate BR549," and adopt a new and contemporary theme: "We (HEART) Truck Through City."

Meanwhile, as for the parade itself, I have both good and bad news.

First the good news.

See, parades really can be creative and enjoyable -- just not here. Poperinge? That's another story.

The bad news: The usual grousing malcontents will have no porch to inhabit, because we're hitting the pause button on what would have been the 10th annual parade gathering hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Confidential at their domicile on East Spring Street, world headquarters of the 1117 East Spring Neighborhood Association.

For one thing, we have a wedding to attend later in the day. For another, NA Confidential's forthcoming birthday party on October 24 is more deserving of limited cerebral preparation time.

No, I have not converted, but there'll be a momentous anniversary celebration on October 24, 2014.

Speaking for myself, I intend to peruse the parade from the comfortable confines of Bank Street Brewhouse, which will be open and pouring on Saturday. That's because it takes lots of BEER to live HERE, doesn't it?