Actually, Santa has arrived! Sunday afternoon I volunteered as a Parade Marshall (crowd control) in Vancouver's Christmas parade. We were incredibly lucky in receiving a sunny day after a week of rain. And it was the equivalent of 50 degrees... that's still weird.
Parades in the rain forest - they give you ponchos
I was stationed at the start of the parade with the women in the photo. Yes, one painted her face to look like the Grinch. She spent the start of the parade seeing how many kids she could startle. We got along well.
The Rodgers Santa Claus parade featured 55 floats, bands, cars, and of course ended with Santa Claus. Since I was working I didn't take any pictures, but my favorite entry was the RCMP. The first time I'd seen actual Mounties! They look just like you want them to!
The parade has the tradition of allowing the crowd to follow Santa's "sleigh" down the parade route as a band leads everyone in Christmas songs. It was really nice and a lovely way to end the event. As we were stationed at the start of the parade route, the four of us volunteers had the job of forming a barrier between the band and the ever growing crowd.
My view from behind the band
Crowd control using garland
The ever-growing crowd behind us
The parade ended with the band performing Silent Night as the crowd sang along. All-in-all, the most festive holiday event I've been a part of this year! Oh, and that garland? It's now in my apartment. Free Christmas decorations, ya'll!
Happy Holidays!
SO....how many people stood in front of the Big Red Banner and asked, "Is this the start of the parade?"
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome. And love your decorations - it's more than I have up. Maybe after finals. 😊
ReplyDeleteJoyce: Actually, the most common question wad "How long does the parade last?" And we say, "45 minutes" And they'd say "I heard it won't end till 3pm, that means it's two hours long" And we'd say "Well, it starts at 1pm down here. If you're seated towards the end it will take longer to reach you, so it may end later." And then they'd stare at us confused.
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