It was a beautiful evening Tuesday night for the annual Altona Grad parade, with a long line of trucks, trailers and cars winding its way through town as family and friends cheered along the side of the route. Many of the grads were dressed to the 9's in their suits, tuxes and dresses. CFAM Radio 950 Morning Show Host Chris Sumner saw it firsthand while he chatted with a few of them, including CFAM's own Parker Schmidt who is graduating Thursday night. 

"I'm just excited to hang out with my friends one last time," said Schmidt when asked what he was most excited about with grad just around the corner. "It's going to be one of the last chances to do something big and just have fun. It feels good. To be honest, I didn't think I'd do it, but to know I'm graduating, to know I'm done with all this after 13 years, it feels really good. I'm happy right now."

Piper Stoesz had similar feelings as she hung out with her friends, and finished decorating the vehicle they would be riding in.

"We're all feeling excited," she shared. "I'm kind of ready for the next thing. School's been good, but I'm ready to move on, and ready to try something new, and ready for the next adventure."

And what is that next adventure? Stoesz will be attending the University of Manitoba this Fall working toward a science degree.

"This is one of the last times we'll all be able to be together, so it's really nice just to be able to share that with them," added Stoesz about what it meant to share the grad parade evening with her friends.

Tyler Wright was also part of the fun Tuesday evening, as he looked ahead to a goal of having a career in the Canadian Armed Forces as his next chapter, specifically as an ACS Tech in Winnipeg.

"My brother and his passion to serve our country," is why he became interested in serving.

And Fletcher Kehler also took a moment to reflect on graduation, with his plan being to get into the workforce and the goal of entering the autobody sector at some point.

"I'm pretty excited," he said with a smile. "I'm kind of just excited to be done with it. It's been thirteen years in the making, so it's kind of surreal."

You can listen to Chris's conversation with the grads, below.

- With files from Candace Derksen -