Santa speaking to crowd in front of J.L. Hudson department store
during the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade-1942
only 30 more sleeps!
—
“to celebrate a festival means;
to live out, for some special occasion and in an uncommon manner
the universal assent to the world as a whole.”
-josef pieper
The T-Rex Walking Club parades in Ferndale,MI
The T-Rex Walking Club takes a stroll to bring joy during the coronavirus pandemic. A silly and secret club formed during the pandemic is on a quest to bring smiles to the faces of kids, and a few adults, while under Michigan’s stay home order.
On Friday, when Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended Michigan’s order, there was parade of a pink unicorn, followed by a gentle giraffe, a ferocious bear, a swinging stegosaurus, Scooby-Doo and a shark too, a tall pterodactyl, a trotting triceratops, a black-and-white penguin, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, a friendly T-Rex, another penguin, and a one-eyed Minion.
This motley crew, which calls itself the Ferndale T-Rex Walking Club, takes its unannounced strolls through neighborhoods. There are other characters, too, and a few members have costumes on order. On their next walks, you might see an additional unicorn, more sharks, a polar bear, a gorilla, a Godzilla, an alligator, a hippo, a flamingo, a zebra, and an upside-down clown.
Most members of the club are also members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.The point of the parade, is to cheer up the community during otherwise gloomy times and get children and adults to smile, said Oscar Renautt, who heads the Elks public relations committee.
The T-Rex club has its own set of rules. You must be invited; have an enclosed, inflatable costume; wear a face mask; and you can never, ever tell anyone where — or when — the group is going to go walking.
The founder, Ms. Ignash, received her pink unicorn costume one Christmas, has had it for years, and she’d occasionally show up somewhere in it for a laugh. Then, she posted the article in Facebook for local residents and they thought it was a good idea. Folks asked her to organize an event, so she did. It was right after the stay-at-home order, and within two hours, close to 200 people were interested.
Ignash decided that it was a totally crazy idea, and irresponsible to create crowds of people during a pandemic, so she canceled the event, and started over. Instead, she created a private group and invited just a couple of friends to join her. They went on a walk in costume, and then another, and another, adding a few friends — and characters — each time.
The costumes are so big that they naturally require the walkers to space out about six-feet apart, a social distancing requirement of the governor’s order. They also don’t want to spread the virus so they wear masks.Visibility inside isn’t so good either, and it can get hot inside the costume. So they don’t walk for too long. “But, it’s fun because kids really freak out,” Ignash said. “They see us coming, or they hear other people talking about us coming, and kids freak out. Its fun, just so much fun.”
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credits: Frank Witsil- Detroit Free Press, Ferndale Elks Club
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“a procession is a participants’ journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”
– Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking
this family of turkeys behind the line at the parade
may or may not realize
that they have actually become a part of the parade.
—
“in general, costumes are the first thing in life
that let other people know who we are.
they indicate who the person is without saying anything.”
-molly parker
—
at the 2018 macy’s thanksgiving day parade – new york, ny, usa
what better way to celebrate the day than walking all together
the local merchants
the stormtrooper
the squirrel
the roller derby team
the pedal bikers
the mayor
the musicians with a cause
the snow buddies
the creatures.
and so many, many, more.
—
“diversity is about all of us,
and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together.”
-jacqueline woodson
jacqueline is the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She received the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and the 2018 Children’s Literature Legacy Award, and is the 2014 National Book Award Winner for her New York Times bestselling memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, which was also a recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor, the NAACP Image Award and a Sibert Honor. In 2015, Woodson was named the Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation.
feeding the team while on the road and riding
(using parade candy found on the ground along the route).
” it would be easier if this didn’t start off in slow motion going up a hill and behind a lot of tractors and dogs and babies.”
– felix (australia/u.s.a.) – team porter
– grandson and famous parade rider
feeding the team while on the road and riding
(using lab-tested high protein super food).
“i hope to continue doing well in the final stages. it’s good to hear that people have noticed i’m in the race too, even if i prefer to let my legs do the talking.
-fabio aru (astana) – team sky
– some guy who is just a tour de france rider
it’s just not a parade until the veggies do their dance
—
“vegetables are a must on a diet.
i suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.”
-jim davis
festifools brings students and community volunteers together to create
unique public art that is free and accessible to everyone by making
huge-mongous papier-mâché puppets and marching them down main
street in ann arbor in a experience that embraces and celebrates
the joy of community and uninhibited fun.
and everyone
is playing
and sharing
and finding magic
and in no time at all
the entire community
is in the street dancing
having become
a part of the parade
and the joy
is infectious
and
impossible to resist
—
if you wait for inspiration you’ll be standing on the corner after the parade is a mile down the street.
– ben nicholas
freedom lies in being bold.
robert frost
back in my advertising days, america’s thanksgiving parade in detroit was one of our clients. as i watch it this morning, i have many memories, both fond, and some, not so much:
– spending all night on thanksgiving eve, in the parade warehouse and in the cold out on woodward avenue as the floats rolled out and news affiliates wanted live shots
– media fighting for best position for the event
– driving golf carts down our usually packed busy roads, no cars allowed during set up, surveying the situation, and getting such a very cool and different view
– chasing a news anchor through a scary neighborhood the night before, as he sped his way towards the scene with his cameraman, drunk and angry he had to work, got a flat tire and i just kept going, local homeless guy kindly helped me with my tire and i jumped out , ran to the street and got the live shot just in time
– having the 4 tops as a float attraction, though only 3 were still alive and hoping no one would notice, then 1 of the 3 went on a bender, was lost somewhere in detroit and pulled up in a limo, in his clothes from the night before, just as the parade was about to begin
– cinderella got the flu just as she was getting in her costume to ride in her carriage, had to have an intern fill in
– giant balloon untethering itself and flying across the border to our friends in canada
– communication source, walkie talkies and radios going out, trying to make decisions based on a ‘best guess’ approach
– volunteers getting ‘fired’ by an ego-driven person at the top, for not being ‘camera-worthy,’ having to put a positive p.r. spin on this
– celebrities, bands, clowns, animals, law enforcement, athletes, characters, charity events, music, lost children, artists, contests, security, parking, coaches, costumes, twirlers, technology, floats, marchers, bad weather, live tv, and the crowd – somehow it all went off no matter what did or didn’t happen behind the scenes. as crazy and sleep depriving and dizzying as it was, i loved it all (now that i am looking back and watching it from the warmth of a living room, drinking coffee, and just taking it all in from a cozy couch.) happy thanksgiving to all.
—
If you’re not in the parade, you watch the parade. That’s life. – Mike Ditka
Q: what do you get when you mix?
– hometeam ncaa final four win
– dance for mother earth american indian pow wow
– festifools parade
– hash hash
– foolmoon luminary festival
– one man anti-war protest
A: the perfect storm = just another weekend here in ann arbor.
I have my glasses on.... 