The Veteran’s Day Parade in Oak Harbor may become history.

Terry Lacey, parade coordinator, said he does not plan to continue the parade any longer due to lack of interest and participation.

Started in 2012, the event has been held every year downtown.

“People always said they would help out, but when it came time to get the work done they never did,” Lacey said.

Terry said that along with the help of his wife, he was a one-man show when it came to coordinating the event. In addition to lack of manpower, new city regulations, permit requirements and a parade application have made it more difficult to continue, Lacey said.

“I now have to notify all the businesses at least two weeks in advance and then submit an affidavit affirming that all have been notified,” Lacey said. “It has gotten to be too much and I just can’t do it all by myself.”

According to the city, the regulations and processes have always been in place but were being taken care of for the applicant in the past.

Deanna Emery, assistant to Mayor Bob Severns, said, “It has always been the responsibility of the applicant to handle the paperwork. We just lost the manpower to keep doing it so we had to put the work back on the applicant.”

Emery said the city is working with the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce to see if something can be worked out.

“We would really like to keep the parade going,” Emery said.

Paying for the parade has also been challenging. Lacey said that he received donations in the past but usually had to reach into his own pocket to make the parade happen.

Aside from limited help, funding and onerous requirements, the other factor of having a parade in November in Western Washington is quite obvious: inclement weather, Lacey said.

“Last year we got rained on a little bit but it was still a success and the parade has grown from previous years,” he said. “Some people just won’t commit due to weather concerns.”

Lacey, a veteran himself, expressed regret at his decision.

“I hate to see it go away, and I know some people will be disappointed,” he said.

In past years the parade has had about 50 different groups and a couple hundred participants who traveled from as far away as Auburn and Bellingham, according to Lacey.

“The community really seemed to enjoy it and wanted to have it,” Lacey said.

Attempts were made to put a committee together, but fizzled it out in the end, he said.

“I really hope somebody wants to pick it up and keep going with it.”