DC Cherry Blossom Festival Parade 2009
On Saturday, April 4th, 2009, I marched in the DC Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. Let me say that getting into the parade and then actually being to make it down the parade route were both more of a challenge than I could have expected.
The parade has been on my social calendar since the beginning of the year, but I really didn’t know if I would have a chance to be in the parade. My clown alley, Just Clowning Around of Northern Virginia, does a few parades each year, but for some unknown reason, they don’t do the Cherry Blossom Parade. My other clown alley, Kapitol Klowns, does a few parades in DC, including last month’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, but not the Cherry Blossom parade. The only clown group in the parade was the Kena Klowns, which is a local Shriner group that includes my friend TJ. Since I am not a Shriner, it didn’t seem likely that I would be in the parade as a clown.
My unicycle group, the UniStars, were in the parade. I am not at the point where I can successfully ride in a parade. I could likely make it the mile route, but not with the stop and go of a parade. I probably could have asked to walk with the group like a few parents always do, but decided not to.
I signed up on the festival volunteer website to help with the parade and was initially put on the wait list. I found out that one of my friends was also helping with the parade and we made plans to meet. A few days before the parade, we were both assigned as “Parade as Needed” volunteers, but that changed and she was assigned to help with the feather flags and I was assigned one of the balloons. We figured we could swap with someone when we got there. Unfortunately, we were told they were short of volunteers and didn’t want anyone swapping. The wind was strong, and my friend posted a joking message on FaceBook that we were being attacked by giant cherry blossoms.
We managed to have a little time to talk before being separated with our respective roles. But, it would be too easy if I actually made it into the parade with the balloon… Before the parade began, three of the cherry blossom balloons (balloons that looked like a 12-foot-tall cherry blossom) were moved towards the beginning of the parade route. We sat around for about ten minutes before being directed to the viewing stands. Realizing that the balloons were facing the wrong direction, they had us spin around so the printed side would show towards the camera. The Sesame Street characters were practicing their song and dance routine. Thinking that maybe this would be our spot during the parade, we figured we had better than front row seats. After the song ended, we were directed back to where we had been waiting earlier.
A big gust of wind blew and pushed our balloon around a few feet and one of our volunteers tripped. She went off to the side of the street to rest a minute. Another volunteer went to make sure she was OK and a third stopped to tie her shoe. There may have been one or two others who also shifted their attention away from the balloon. Another strong gust of wind came and those on the other side struggled to keep the balloon under control. Since the balloon was coming my way, my rope was loose. One of the ropes broke loose and the balloon crashed into a tree along the side of the road. A branch tore a hole in the balloon and the balloon quickly deflated. The few of us still standing tried to gain control of the balloon before it blew away while the others recoverd. I had two people help me gather the balloon and walk it back to the area they were using to inflate the balloons. I honestly don’t know why we were not supervised. They were thinking of still doing the balloons but having them just walk past the viewing stands and then back to the starting area instead of walking the full mile long parade route.
The volunteers from my balloon really didn’t want to go through another experience like that again. A few were reassigned other roles and a few left. I was assigned to help with the feather flags and happened to get one that matched my friend’s feather flag. After all of that, we would be able to march together. Since the winds were strong and the flags tall, they said that they may collect the flags after we passed the viewing stands.
We were lined at the starting point of the parade and got to see the first several groups march off. Jeopardy host, Alex Trebek was the grand marshal. It didn’t take long before it was our turn to go. We kept the flags down until we made the turn onto the parade route. Shortly after making the first turn, I heard the announcers say, “and now for a commercial break.” After passing the first viewing area where the TV cameras were located, they collected our feather flags. All of that work and we didn’t even make it on TV. The volunteers decided to continue down the parade route. There were six of us, empty handed, but wearing the green volunteer T-shirts. We waved, and people cheered. I guess the parade was still early… We tried to play it up a bit and tried to get the crowds to cheer louder. I think that my side of the parade route was always louder than the other…. Eventually, I pulled out my juggling balls. I have never juggled while walking any distance or in the wind, so it was definitely a new experience.
We were marching behind a large group of classic cars and in front of a band from Florida. The cars kept moving fairly fast and caught up with the group in front of them. The band kept to a slower pace and fell behind. We tried to stay about half way between the two groups, but without much to do, we really just kept walking.
When we reached the end of the parade route, we turned around and found a place along the side to watch the rest of the parade. I did get to see my friends from the UniStars and the Kena Klowns come down the parade route.
After I got home, I checked the recording of the parade and saw that as I expected, we were cut from the parade by a commercial. The parade skipped from the band in front of the classic cars before us to the performers from the musical Chicago after the band that was behind us. The UniStars were also cut from the TV coverage of the parade, but the Kena Klowns were on TV.
