New #35: March in a Parade

I was never in band, or beauty pageants, or a side show circuses. Therefore, there's never been much of an opportunity for me to be in a parade. So when my work (the Loveland Reporter-Herald) asked if any employees would like to accompany its float, I picked up that proverbial baton and joined the march.

The annual parade is part of Loveland's Corn Roast Festival, a relic of the small town the city once was, as well as a tribute to its favorite vegetable. And it all kicks off with the morning march through downtown.

The Reporter-Herald is in the parade every year, driving our turn-of-the-century fire truck along the route. This year, for the paper's 130th birthday, they decided to dress up the truck for the party, complete with streamers, balloon and festive frill. There were even pointy party hats for all participants. So it was a bit gaudy, but isn't that what parades are all about?

The marching band had nothing on Tom and his vuvuzela.

After waiting for the march to start (and practicing our vuvuzelas), it was time to start moving. Right away we were greeted by thousand of people waving and smiling. Every face seemed genuinely happy to see us. That, or maybe they just wanted some free loot. We were handing out newspapers, as well as paper fans, which apparently came in pretty handy that hot morning. In fact, some fans of the free fan became frenzied, literally chasing after me if I missed giving them one. One particularly obnoxious woman went so far as to grab five right out of my hand. I know our fan was pretty cool, but have you heard of a piece of paper? It works just as well.



Yet even fan mania added to the fun of being in the parade. It was definitely something knew to walk through thousands of people with cameras and waving hands pointed my way. Sometimes I'd even hear my named called from the crowd. I know. I am quite the celebrity.


The whole parade took only about a half-hour of marching before we reached the end. I got home before 10:30 that morning, right around the time I'd usually be waking up on a Saturday. I may not have gotten to sleep in that weekend, but I think marching through a cheering crowd is a pretty awesome way to start the day.