It's finally the annual time of the year, time for the so called Liphuster Feest. On thursday it's decorating day, a day on which we decorate the houses and gardens for the coming days.
But today it is Friday and we kick off today with the kids from elementry school which is based in the village. They all walk from school to the tent and getting fries and ice cream as a treat. Every year the committee comes with a theme and this year it is fairytales. And of course at the beginning of the evening we have the parade. During the day we had some rainshowers but the sky cleared and the sun came out. Through the years the floats became bigger and more beautiful, which is giving some trouble to get everyone in start position. But after a bit of puzzling it is time to get rolling. Just after a 100 metres the parade comes to a hold as the bolts from one of the wheels of one the floats came loose. Luckely no accidents happened but this was close call. One of the neighbors is mechanic and he was able to fix it during the evening as the float stranded in our street, but they had to drop out of the p
arade for today.Children Love Parades
Children love parades for a number of reasons, one of which being that they are strange and wonderful things. Big city folks don't understand small town parades. They have expensive floats decorated entirely with flowers and grown up men are having toys that they're obviously too old for, but it's a little different at a small town parade.At a small town parade, you start off with the local police department, riding in cars to make sure that everything is safe trafficwise. The floats are being build by the local mums and dads and also the clothing is sometimes made by a few handy women. I think it is nice that this is still excisting as in these modern times it is not that common anymore to do things together.
Marching Bands
Marching bands, are probably the most professional entries in the parade. As they practise a lot and are showing up in all these parades, although of course one is better then the other.
Less charitable things can be said for the baton corps. These are little girls, most of them, who can barely manipulate a baton. More or less twirl one. The older ones will toss the baton in the air and actually catch it, but please don't think that I'm critical of the kids.
Building a float
Starts with spreading ideas at the neigborhood meeting, from that point a lay out is made and the building of the float begins. It is for a lot of us pretty hard to be a teamplayer as we all want to be captain. So there is a lot of discussion among the buildinggroup and the developpers. For me it is pretty hard to keep myself on the brakes, but I have to take it easy on my body otherwise I will be struck by it the next 24 hours. I am not always agreeing with the design but it is nice to see what they are coming up with, this years theme is fairytales and our float is called “ice queen.”
Most of the streets have units. , with actual floats built atop hay wagons, usually pulled or ushed by tractors. The building of them happens in barns of farmers in the neigborhood or under a construction of pipes and shielded of with a few hammer-cloths. As a mum or dad you have to help building the float and they make a shedule for that, but also the youngest kids are going on the wagon from the school. So you got a double job.
Dads don't get to be Dads any more. As before every single dad had a job but now in this time of recession a lot off them are laid off or it is getting closer to them. On some of them you can sense it as there drive to do something is not there and their conversation is a bit depressed. If he gets laid off and doesn't have money to pay the full amount of bills coming in every month, and with these days that you have to play cheerful and go with your kids to the fair eventhough you can not afford it. It's not much fun being a unemployed dad, nor do I imagine it's much fun for their kids.
I Love A Parade
I said earlier that little kids love parades, because they are strange and wonderful things, and older people have their own reasons for loving parades. I can't say that I find them overly thrilling, myself. I always liked to see fathers beaming to see their kids in the parade, and kids beaming to see their parents see them. No wonder parades have dropped off, as people have forgotten the warm feelings of their kids and the happiness on their little faces. Some of us are being to busy with themselves but this is a start of coming back together or....
The Old Sailor,
