In memory of longtime Saco Jets coach Sue Skaggs, who died last year, baton twirling alumni will perform in this year’s La Kermesse Parade at 6 p.m. Friday. Contributed
For decades in Southern Maine, baton twirling had a strong grip across local communities, with young people and their parents cramming into local gyms on spring Saturdays for competitions and spending their summers marching in local parades. Twirlers would learn their team’s “parade routine,” to be performed on repeat while marching during local favorite parades on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and of course, in Biddeford, the La Kermesse Parade.
Sue Skaggs
This year’s La Kermesse Parade will take place on Friday, June 21 at 6 p.m. and will feature not only local marching bands, dance schools, and businesses, but this year will also feature a delegation of over 50 baton twirlers performing in memory of Saco Jets Coach, Sue Skaggs.
Anyone who twirled a baton in the area over the last few decades has fond memories of Sue Skaggs, who was known for her bright smile, infectious laugh, and the fun she brought to both practice and competition. Skaggs was an original member of the Saco Jets, for which she later became a beloved coach and mentor, and was a member and officer of the Maine, Northeast Regional and U. S. Twirling Associations. Her passing at age 64 last July was felt not only by her friends and family, but by the countless students she had influenced over the years.
“Sue started twirling with me when she was three,” said Linda Ladakakos, director of Saco Jets, of her longtime best friend. “I miss her every day.”
Ladakakos, along with former Saco Jets coach Lori Lebreque, have now gathered this group of over 50 twirlers to honor Skaggs’ memory with one last big parade. The group will march with long-time parade partner, the St. Louis Alumni Band. Twirlers range in ages from mid-twenties to their 70s. There are teams of mothers and daughters, grandmothers, and twirlers who will march while pregnant with their own children. At their practice at Fairfield School on Wednesday, June 12, there was an atmosphere of a reunion, rejoicing over the cherished camaraderie of being teammates and competitive rivals and the nervous laughter of dusting off a long-dormant skill.
“I’m hoping it’s like riding a bike,” said Amelia Bshara, née Worthing, who was a 10+ year student of Seacoast Twirlers. “It’s crazy to have a baton in my hand again.”
Like many organizations and businesses, Saco Jets closed their doors during COVID, when it became impossible to access the spaces they had historically used for practice or to gather together with students. Saco Jets was a giant in the twirling community, and along with local other local baton schools like the aforementioned Seacoast Twirlers, the Kennebunk Twirlers, Belfast Twirlers, and Oxford Hills, created a community of young athletes that still have a kinship years later.
“These are the loves of my life,” said Ladakakos, looking out over the generations of twirlers practicing this past Wednesday. “I have made the best friends, I have another whole family through baton twirling.”
The parade will start on Alfred and Birch streets by Portland Glass and will proceed up Alfred Street to Graham Street Ext. to West Street and end at the St. Louis Field on West Street. Line up for the parade begins at 5 p.m. at St. James School. Carpooling is encouraged for all organizations marching in the parade. For more information about the parade and the La Kermesse Festival, visit www.lakermessefestival.com.
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