I don't know if it was the fact that it was the 3rd and not the 4th of July, or if there is a big difference between Southern and Northern parades, or if just this particular town's parade was unique, but the parade we went to today was definitely.... different from what we're used to.
As we excitedly arrived at our spot along the parade route, Pete and I were talking about how this would be our first parade in the South. Up until now, all of our patriotic parade experiences have been in small towns in NY, NJ or Ohio.
And as we looked at the kids sitting across the street from us, we got our first clue that this might be slightly different:
As we excitedly arrived at our spot along the parade route, Pete and I were talking about how this would be our first parade in the South. Up until now, all of our patriotic parade experiences have been in small towns in NY, NJ or Ohio.
And as we looked at the kids sitting across the street from us, we got our first clue that this might be slightly different:
All of the kids had empty bags to collect candy!My idea of a parade is composed of multiple marching bands, baton-twirlers, loud sirens (and yelling “honk your horn” to all the drivers of loud trucks), a lot of marching groups, like military people, and Ladies’ Auxiliaries (still not sure what they are). And, if we were really lucky, we might get a Tootsie-Roll or 2 at some point from a very special float.
Well, the parade today eventually started, and we were excited to see some veterans leading the way. But then…. Let’s just say there was nary a marching band nor twirler in sight. And certainly no one on a unicycle or tiny bike!
Instead, it quickly became a procession of vans, trucks and convertibles. From what we could tell, it seemed any of the following could be in this parade:1.) Any local business
2.) Any girl who has won any of the (apparently) 30+ beauty pageants in the state.
3.) Any car that was older, or just unusual. For instance a Trans Am, completely unlabeled and undecorated went by.
4.) Any local politician, or politician wanna-be
5.) Any group of senior citizens
4.) Any local politician, or politician wanna-be
5.) Any group of senior citizens
6.) Anyone else who wanted to.
In fact, it appeared that the only actual requirement to be in this parade, was to have at least one Costco-sized candy bag that you were willing to pelt at the observers.
It quickly became clear that many local businesses had realized this was a prime PR opportunity. And as the stream of advertising messages continued to stream by, pelting us with candy, we began to actually get weary of the parade. Pete even murmured he hoped it would end soon. This was not our typical parade reaction.
The highlight of it all for the kids, was seeing Ronald McDonald. In fact, Strider told this to our local newspaper reporter friend we ran into at the end, and the man said he would quote our kids in the paper. That should be an interesting article.
When it was finally over, we surveyed the scene and realized why those other kids had brought empty bags. This is what we had gathered! The kids around here have found a form of candy-gathering that is way easier than trick-or-treating.
In fact, it appeared that the only actual requirement to be in this parade, was to have at least one Costco-sized candy bag that you were willing to pelt at the observers.
It quickly became clear that many local businesses had realized this was a prime PR opportunity. And as the stream of advertising messages continued to stream by, pelting us with candy, we began to actually get weary of the parade. Pete even murmured he hoped it would end soon. This was not our typical parade reaction.
The highlight of it all for the kids, was seeing Ronald McDonald. In fact, Strider told this to our local newspaper reporter friend we ran into at the end, and the man said he would quote our kids in the paper. That should be an interesting article.When it was finally over, we surveyed the scene and realized why those other kids had brought empty bags. This is what we had gathered! The kids around here have found a form of candy-gathering that is way easier than trick-or-treating.
And, of course, don’t forget all the flyers and other marketing memorabilia:
Crazy.
Yup. Not quite like the parades of good ole Ohio! And no fire trucks spray you with their hoses like we used to see growing up. I recall thinking last year that the parade was pretty boring...but the kids did LOVE the candy!!
ReplyDelete