A year after tragedy, the Dancing Grannies 'celebrate life' in return to the Waukesha Christmas Parade - CNN

CNN  — 

Betty Streng does not retrieve overmuch of past year’s Waukesha Christmas parade — or, arsenic she calls it, a “half-a-parade.”

It was the 64-year-old’s archetypal Christmas parade arsenic a subordinate of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, the charmingly rocking radical of older women looking for exercise, relationship and the roar of the crowd. She recalls the excitement of putting connected her blue-and-white outfit and dancing to 4 oregon 5 songs without immoderate mistakes.

“It was large and the assemblage was awesome,” she said. “It’s like, ‘Wow, they’re cheering. They’re truly blessed and enjoying themselves.’

“And aft that, I don’t retrieve anything. And the adjacent happening I retrieve is Thanksgiving successful the hospital.”

Her representation blocked retired the horrors of that day, November 21, erstwhile a antheral intentionally drove an SUV onto the parade way and struck 68 antithetic radical successful all. Six people were killed, including 4 affiliated with the Dancing Grannies: Virginia “Ginny” Sorenson, 79; Leanna “Lee” Owen, 71; Tamara Durand, 52; and Wilhelm “Bill” Hospel, an 81-year-old radical helper whose woman was a member.

Streng herself was near with 2 skull fractures and bleeding of the brain, and she spent 2 weeks successful the infirmary and was utilizing a walker into February.

But she’s worked herself backmost into dancing shape, and connected Sunday astatine 4 p.m. she volition instrumentality to the country of the tragedy with the Dancing Grannies to forge caller memories with this year’s Waukesha Christmas parade.

Now successful its 59th year, the 2022 mentation of the parade volition diagnostic a fig of odes and memorials to past year’s tragedy. The taxable is “Peace connected Earth,” the expansive marshal volition beryllium a radical representing “All First Responders,” and toward the beforehand volition beryllium the Dancing Grannies.

In all, 17 Dancing Grannies are expected to march, with Streng and 3 others who attended past year’s lawsuit dancing astatine the beforehand of the group. Speaking to CNN days earlier the event, Streng said she looked guardant to going back.

“Why not?” she told CNN. “It’s thing I worked for. I learned these dances to go an authoritative Granny, and I bask doing it, truthful wherefore wouldn’t I spell backmost to doing thing I enjoy?

“I anticipation it brings joyousness and hope,” she added. “We observe beingness and observe the lives of those we lost, observe our ain life, that we get to proceed connected and bash what we emotion and what brings america joy.”

This year’s parade, again enactment connected by the Waukesha Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Ascension Hospitals, includes a somewhat altered way and added information plans.

The 1-mile way inactive travels on Main Street successful downtown Waukesha, per tradition, but it is present much compact and structured similar a loop, with the commencement and extremity astatine other sides of Cutler Park, according to parade coordinator Janelle Andrews.

“A large crushed for that is amended containment with the Police Department, Fire Department, Department of Public Works,” she said. “So they adjusted the way conscionable to marque it easier and safer and capable to artifact disconnected much roads heading into the parade.”

A dense constabulary beingness volition beryllium successful spot and determination volition beryllium much volunteers helping transportation retired the event. In addition, the metropolis purchased modular conveyance barriers to artifact disconnected roads on the parade way and to support crowds from vehicles, the metropolis said.

The parade volition beryllium televised for the archetypal clip by CNN affiliate WTMJ for those not comfy attending.

Andrews said the assemblage involvement successful the parade has soared successful the past year. Last year, determination were nether 60 groups successful the parade; this year, astir 120 groups reached retired to participate, but organizers had to headdress the full astatine 80 owed to abstraction and timing limitations, she said.

On Sunday, the parade volition beryllium led by a memorial interval with six ample snowflakes successful grant of each of the victims. The expansive marshal volition travel adjacent with the banner held by the occurrence chief, constabulary main and the mayor. And past the Grannies volition get to get the enactment started.

“What we are expecting to hap is erstwhile the memorial interval goes by, we’re assuming the crowds volition have, successful their ain way, a infinitesimal of soundlessness and remembrance,” Andrews said. “Then with the Dancing Grannies soon aft and the expansive marshal, we deliberation determination volition beryllium a batch of cheering and a bully modulation into this year’s parade.”

Jean Knutson, a 62-year-old Dancing Granny since 2015, opted retired of past year’s parade to be a Green Bay Packers crippled with friends and family.

“It was a batch of survivor’s guilt due to the fact that the mode I would person been positioned successful the lineup, I would person been close down Lee Owen, who was killed successful the tragedy,” she said.

The deaths of Sorenson and Owen, the radical coaches, near a enactment vacuum astatine the apical of the group, truthful she and Jan Kwiatkowski person tried to capable that void arsenic co-leaders successful the past year. Only 7 Grannies stay from earlier the onslaught – the “Original Grannies,” arsenic they notation to themselves – and they person welcomed successful 12 caller grandmothers to the group.

Knutson said she had mixed feelings up of the parade.

“I’m definite it’s going to beryllium a mixed container of emotions but I americium looking guardant to it. Just the emotion and enactment of the community, not conscionable locally but statewide, the country, the world. Everybody has been truthful supportive of us,” she told CNN. “It genuinely is an grant to beryllium successful this radical now, and wearing that bluish and achromatic Christmas azygous costume is awesome. It conscionable means a lot.”

She said she inactive hears Sorenson and Owen’s coaching directions successful her caput and volition beryllium reasoning of them Sunday.

“Just knowing that they would beryllium truthful arrogant of america close now, that we did effort to bring this radical and proceed going forward,” Knutson said.

Kwiatkowski told CNN’s Amara Walker the radical “vowed to support connected dancing” successful the aftermath of the attack, and the parade volition bring mixed emotions.

“I’m definite we volition beryllium laughing, I’m definite there’s parts of the parade we’re going to beryllium crying,” she said.