Multnomah Days Parade: 2005

Well, about 9:20 or so on Saturday, we trekked up the hill to the Village, in order to secure a good spot for parade-watching. There were already a good amount of cars parked all around the side streets, and when we approached the post office, to drop some outoing letters in the box, parade preparation was in full swing.The band was practicing, and we discovered an antique fire-truck that now that I think about it, actually didn't appear in the parade.

We listened to the big band (the Get a Life Marching Band) rehearse for a bit, and then headed up to the main drag to find a place to sit. Jr. V was thrilled to discover that the inflatable bounce houses and slides were in place again.

We found a great place to sit right on the edge of the curb against the bus shelter outside Acapulco's and waited for the parade to begin. Soon, the first fire trucks and police cars came down the street.
The parade begins!

Followed by all manner of dogs, decorated cars, more pre-schools than I ever even dreamed existed in one neighborhood, and the marching band. All throwing candy. At some point in the last 20 years, parades have pretty much become a long procession of people throwing candy at the audience. Often quite hard. One must take care not to get clocked by a handful of tootsie rolls. Jr. V returned home with a heaping serving dish of candy. And superballs. There seemed to be a lot of superball throwing on the part of parade participants this year. This is good, since really, how many tubes of "smarties" does one household need, a scant two months or so before Halloween.

I'll post some more pictures later, when I have time to whip out a quick gallery. Let me know if you see yourself. There will be cars, there will be more of the band, there will be inflatable slides, urban chickens and a person who may have actually been Jeff Parker in a Batman costume!
Really, where else are you gonna see this kind of thing on a Saturday morning?