Fourth of July, marriage proposal celebrated in Farmington

FARMINGTON – The annual Independence Day parade featured the usual colorful floats, animals, marching bands and the unusual: a marriage proposal.

Under bright clouded skies, the Farmington Rotary Club’s annual parade drew a large, appreciative crowd that lined the streets downtown. Among the parade participants were the dozen members of The Smiling Goat Precision Juggling Corps.

At Main Street and Broadway, the jugglers had just finished the popular “Supernova” maneuver in which the group circles up juggles out to crowd and returns into tight circle to throw the neon-colored balls high into the sky. Just as the balls started to come back to earth, juggler Antonio Solis, left the group headed towards the spectators standing on the sidewalk.

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a little red box and on bended knee asked Margaret Booth if she would marry him. Booth looked a little bit shocked a first. Then with a big grin nodded a yes as cellphones surrounded them to record the historic event while others applauded.

Solis, a Wilton native who attended the University of Maine at Farmington, is a fitness specialist for the State Wellness Program run by Maine General Health.  Booth is a pre-kindergarten teacher at Atwood Primary School in Oakland.

After placing his grandmother’s diamond ring on Booth’s finger, the couple turned and walked arm and arm through a line up formation of juggling corps members.

The Rotary’s parade theme this year was children. As part of the celebration, fireworks returned to Farmington on Friday night.