Since Sept. 11, patriotism has soared in the Potomac Falls community, where attendance and participation in the parade increased significantly this year.

Sepi Sarkani, who helped organize the parade, estimated that “a good 250 to 300 people in the parade participated.”

Yellow ribbons are tied to homes throughout the neighborhood to show support for U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

Betsy Gies, 14, wore her army T-shirt to the parade in support of the troops. She also would have worn camouflage socks if her mother had not protested the lack of red, white and blue in her attire. So she settled for plain old white socks instead.

Gies’ mother also prevented her from expressing her patriotism with hair dye on the family’s 7-year-old, white Standard Poodle, Pogo.

“I wanted to dye him red and blue with hair dye, but my mom wouldn’t let me,” Gies said.

For the third time, the after-parade party took place at Silvia and Bob Biggars’ home, which has a yard large enough to host the festivities, said Lani Poderick, who helped organize the parade this year.

The main dish of fried chicken was provided by the W.C.&A.N. Miller Co., which built Potomac Falls, as it is every year, Poderick said.

Neighborhood resident Julie Chapman made flyers every week to remind the neighborhood about the parade and ask for volunteers, she added.

“Anne Puccini chaired,” Poderick said. “She picked it up cold [this year] and did a wonderful job.”

What makes the Potomac Falls parade uniquely Potomac is that it focuses on “family, family,” Sarkani said. “This community is so family oriented. It’s great. There’s lots of activities for the kids in this neighborhood, and today especially.”

Sarkani’s 3-year-old daughter Caroline participated in the parade for the first time this year by riding her tricycle, supervised by her mother.

Brooke Eby, 14, invited her friend Jackie Evans, 15, also of Potomac, to join her in her go-kart this year, which the girls decked out 20 minutes before the parade.

The girls agreed that their favorite part of the parade was “see[ing] all the cute little kids in their costumes.”