This past Saturday, we went to the Hyack Festival Parade. I've been trying to take the kids to a parade for the longest time, but it always seems like parade start times coincide with naps - many start around 1:00 or 2:00pm. Either that or the weather isn't ideal for standing outside on the street.
The Hyack Parade started at 11:00am, so it seemed like perfect timing. Unfortunately, the weather didn't co-operate on Saturday, but we threw caution to the wind, sported our rain gear and headed out anyway. Because at this rate, the kids will be adults before they ever see a parade!
I also haven't been to a parade in ages. We went to the Chinese New Year parade a couple of years ago, but we only caught the tail end of the parade and Josh was too little to understand anyway. So, this was essentially Josh's first parade. He loved it. He watched the whole thing, quite entranced by it all. He liked that he got handouts, like a rubber bracelet from the Army, a Canadian flag and, the best part (!), a couple of lollipops!
Aves wasn't too interested, though. I carried her in the baby carrier, so she couldn't see much anyway. She liked the music, but that was about it.
It wasn't a bad parade - not that I'm a connoisseur. Here are some of my thoughts on the parade:
- The American floats outdid the Canadian floats. I'm guessing that Americans love their parades because every American float was good. We had the occasional nice float that caught your attention, but we also had groups of people walking down the street holding a sign. Like, really, what is the point?!
- Glee music is the theme du jour for marching bands. Aside from the usual parade fanfare, Glee music was all we heard from the marching bands. Not that this is bad - if you like Glee. I, for one, love the show!
- Cannons on a parade float should not be allowed to be continually fired throughout a parade. Especially when the route is lined with buildings on which the noise reverberates.
- Since when did a city's engineering department vehicles become parade-worthy?!
- I like parades. We need to go to more - it's a nice family outing. Especially if the kids like them, too!
3 comments:
This is the 3rd year I brought Syriana to the parade. It's a great parade. I found the parade alot smaller this year it usually takes about 3 hours, but with the rain I was glad it was over earlier : )
i have been going to the hyack parade since i was a teen with my parents...it's a big tradition in my family to attend parades...i love them...having said this, we didn't forego the miserable weather this year and missed it...we went to a great 2 yr old bday party instead...but i am sad we missed the parade that i kind of grew up on...
Years ago, before our kids were born (so, uh, we're talking mid-'90s here) Air and I stumbled on a parade in Port Townsend, Washington, where a bunch of high-school bands marched. It was huge, phenomenal, impressive -- just for some high-school bands! Yes, Americans take their parades more seriously than we do.
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