The rain stopped, the wind died down (some) and Moose Jaw's Hometown Fair Parade went off without a hitch Thursday night. 

Dozens of floats progressed down Main Street in front of hundreds of onlookers, ready to kick off Hometown Fair weekend. 

13 millimetres of rain and wind gusts approaching 70 km/hr pounded the city during the day, but by the time the parade began at 7:00 p.m., weather conditions settled down for all to enjoy the event.

For the first time, a food drive was part of the parade.  Moose Jaw's RBC Royal Bank initiated the program to help the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank, with attendees encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to the parade. 

In total, volunteers collected 136 pounds of food and $63.75 for the local non-profit group, which supplies food hampers to over 350 families each month. 

"This was a trial year," said Food Bank Manager Terri Smith, adding "it's something we look forward to doing every year. It went well, we had a lot of volunteers and it will get better and better every year."