We Love a Parade

In a surprise twist, for the inaugural installment of "New Thing Weekend," we didn't do anything "new" at all. We went to the 73rd annual Spokane Lilac Festival Armed Forces Torchlight Parade. But it was our first time to the Spokane Lilac Fe...to the parade, so this outing meets the high standards of our blog. (Kris has actually been IN the parade before - including one time when a surly and thoroughly drenched parade-goer gave her the finger due to torrential rain that was curiously omitted from Kris' forecast. But this was her first time as a spectator.)

Anywho, this is an incredible event! More than 200 entrants of all shapes and sizes roll through downtown Spokane, many decorated with hundreds of lights due to the 8pm start. As the name implies, it's heavy on the military pageantry. Plenty of troops, vets, hulking green vehicles, and such. Very impressive. We especially liked the vehicle carrying POW's from several wars. Some of those vets looked WWII-vintage. Great to see them honored with a standing ovation by the huge crowd.


There were also lots of impressive high school marching bands, law enforcement, and special-interest clubs, especially rodeo folk. Interestingly, it was almost all women in the rodeo-themed displays, including one large group riding side-saddle, which looks both dangerous and ridiculous. I felt a powerful urge to yell "hey, just swing your leg over, why doncha?", but didn't want to get trampled and beaten by a bunch of middle-aged cowgirls in front of my kids.

The Torchlight Parade website says more than 160,000 people turn out each year, and I believe it. It's 10 deep on the sidewalk for 23 blocks. We arrived late, but managed to find a great spot at the southwest corner of Sprague and Post. Kris and the girls shared two fold-out chairs, and I stood a few feet behind them in our Little Red Flyer Wagon. A really drunk, though otherwise harmless fellow graciously volunteered to put his foot against the tire so I didn't roll into the street. That was indicative of the good vibes throughout the crowd.

As I mentioned, there are more than 200 entries in the Torchlight Parade. It's a lovely event, but believe me, 100 entries would be plenty. God bless you if you made it to Entry #211, the Fairchild Air Force Base Fire Truck. Sophie loved every minute of it, and could have stayed for the duration, but Dani and Gabby started getting punchy after about an hour and a half. We left well before the girls totally fell apart. We're big believers in leaving them wanting more.

We all agreed we'll be back. Next year, we'll bring at least one more chair, and lots of snacks. That should get us to at least Entry #150.

Please forgive the crummy cell phone pics. Future blog entries will feature the work of Kris' fancy camera.