July 4 Parade, Part II

Last year’s July 4th parade in Point Roberts was something of a disappointment. Usually, the parade is organized by the local Chamber of Commerce, which is a relatively small group because we have relatively little commerce that wants to be organized in this way. And last year, the relatively small membership of the Chamber of Commerce somewhat disintegrated just as it was about to get the parade organized. So, although one stalwart member delivered the parade in time, it was a little short on content.

That meant that this year’s parade would have to be either better or worse; no way it could remain at the dismal level it attained last year. Fortunately, the Chamber underwent some kind of revivification this past year and word was out, long before July 4, that the parade trend was definitely up, and even a big up. My idea of a very successful parade includes lots of kids on decorated bicycles, music that is loud (bands are the best, of course), groups that are funny, horses with decorated riders, dogs, jugglers, stilt walkers, and a few knock out decorated floats. People of some vague importance sitting in cars waving desultorily (or even aggressively) and public agency vehicles fail to draw my interest. You can’t make a parade out of nothing.

So, on Saturday at noon, I walked about a mile to the point at which the parade comes closest to me to see what we got. (Note that I do nothing whatsoever to make this parade better or even possible.) As it happens, my spot is at the end of the parade, at the corner of Tyee and APA Road. It takes me about 25 minutes to get there and it takes the parade (which begins at noon) about a half hour to get there. I arrived in plenty of time, along with lots of other people, all of us in the bright, hot sun, sitting mostly on the curb. There were about 40 cars parked along APA which was a sign of a very good turnout.

And I waited for the sound of the Vancouver Police Motorcycle Drill Team which, up until last year, had always begun the parade. But no motorcycles were heard. Not much of anything was heard. Within ten minutes, however, the first float turned the corner of Gulf and Tyee and headed toward us. It was the Shriners’ float. These are Canadian Shriners because I’m pretty sure we don’t have any in P.R. and if they have them in Bellingham, I doubt if they’d come up here for a parade. These Shriners are usually in our July 4 Parade (which is good of them since it isn’t their holiday) and sometimes they bring their little cars and sometimes they bring their calliope and play music. But this year’s Shriners look as if they’ve moved on past both little car driving and calliope playing. These guys are getting on, like WWII veterans who sell poppies in the fall in Remembrance of WWI. Although one appreciates them, it didn’t really seem like a great beginning for a July 4 parade: a bunch of old Canadian guys with funny hats sitting in front of a totem pole.

They were followed by the Grand Marshall, who was/is, I am told, the star of a TV show that may well be called Stargate. Having no TV, I am in no position to speak to his presentation, but nice of him to come in any case. He wore black with black sunglasses and had a woman and child with him in his black convertible.

From then on, it was not a disaster, but neither was it a blazing success. The very highest point of parade amusement—and a high point it was--came with the work of the Precision Lawn Mower Drill Team (which, for some reason was billed as the Precision Lawn AND Drill Team), a group that easily duplicated many of the best moves of the Vancouver Police Motorcycle Precision Drill Team, although at a much slower speed and with a great deal more aluminum foil. (It must be noted that with space travel as a parade theme, virtually every parade participant was decked out in several rolls of aluminum foil: aluminum foil: the new crepe paper.)

Music was brought by a couple with a keyboard and another instrument, whose work or something is to be found at spacefantasymusic.com, according to their float sign, but there does not seem to be any there there on the web. An additional music entry was a 5-person kazoo band. They looked unhappy to be there, but perhaps they were just lonely. Five people is just not enough for a kazoo band.

Eventually, an 18-wheel truck took about ten minutes turning the corner of Gulf and lumbered ever so slowly down to the end: PR Auto Freight services, bringing us (more) aluminum foil and packages to and from space, I guess. And then nothing. My near viewers and I stand around, trying to figure out what is happening. But nothing is happening, even though this is a very unsatisfactory parade conclusion. We are disappointed (and people express their disappointment audibly). Eventually, and slowly, we disperse, sorry to think that it has ended like this, and I with the other 75 or so folks near me disband and return to our cars and homes.

Twenty minutes later, as I am getting close to home, I am passed by a float that says something like “Martian Fantasy Garden.” I had not seen this float in the parade I watched, and it slowly dawned on me that there had been more parade than I—or my co-viewers--had seen. The garden float was superb. Perhaps the organizers had saved all the best for the end? I called around and heard about a number of great entries at the end, including the kids on bicycles, the horses, the dogs, a funny group (the Red Hat Ladies as ‘Pigs in Space’) and the beautiful Garden Club float (Martian Garden Party). Well, there wasn’t a band, but ‘man’s reach must exceed his grasp, else what’s a heaven for?” as Robert Browning, I think, said about his own July 4th parade experience (or some other experience). The word is that Delta Cable wanted to interview everybody so there were big slowdowns because of that. I guess next time, they need somebody dressed like Porky Pig to come at the very end with a sign that says, “That’s All Folks!”

Pictures are to be seen here. Thanks to friends with more sense than I had for the pictures of the things I didn't see, and thanks to the Chamber of Commerce for their good work. Next year, even better, I’m sure. And I’ll try to be a better viewer, too.