thoughts on the news of the day: parades

hmmm…..

            When I was a young girl, we lived near a then-small town named Broken Arrow, OK.  Every spring, the small city promoted their main street shops by having a celebration called “Rooster Day”.  Farmers would bring their prize poultry to town and there were midways and rides and lots of cotton candy.  They even had a “Miss Chick” beauty pageant.  But the most spectacular event of the weekend was the Saturday morning parade.  Loud high school bands with beautiful teenage girls dressed up as twirlers began the show. Then came some floats – churches and business decorated flat bed trailers with crepe paper streamers and balloons and sometimes bright lights.  And last of all, for obvious reasons, the horses brought up the rear.  The palominos were the best.  It was a grand time!

            In a couple of weeks, our town will hold its annual Christmas parade.  Our church has participated in this parade for several years and has even won first prize in the church float category.  Its fun to see all the floats lit up with Christmas lights and the children scrambling for the candy thrown from the floats.

            The Tournament of Roses parade held in Pasadena, California on New Year’s Day is probably the most spectacular parade of them all.   The rule is that floats in the parade have to be entirely decorated in flowers.  This parade has been well attended by commercial floats which advertise their companies in a grand way.

            Unfortunately, many companies are cutting back this year.  There will not be nearly as many folks vying for the top prizes.  Some companies feel that it is not profitable or advantageous to participate in the parade so they have opted out.  And because of that, float creating companies are going out of business.

            I personally love a parade.  Whether it is on television, or whether I stand on the sidewalk watching it pass by, the grandeur of it all thrills me.  And I hope for parade float makers everywhere, the tradition never ends.

            hmmm…..