The whole town comes out to  watch a festival of floats and marching bands parade by as they pay homage to the rhododendron.

The parade begins at  10:00 am and travels east on Seventh Street, south on H Street, west on Henderson and concludes near the rear of the Eureka Mall.

Rhododendrons are easy enough to spot, with or without blossoms. They are evergreen bushes, up to 12 feet tall, with soft, leathery, deep green leaves 3 to 6 inches in length. Come bloom time, you can’t miss them. Their bright, rounded clusters of large, tubular flowers resemble spotlights against the dark trunks of redwood trees.