SHINJU MATSURI PARADE

Branch Members at Parade


August 29, 2010 Sunday

The annual parade for the big festival was this afternoon. We weren’t sure whether missionaries are supposed to go to parades on Sunday. But President Robinson invited us to go and sit with his family and the Wyldes, another family in the branch so we decided it must be okay. Leading the parade were the kids beating the drums and sticks followed by Sammy the Dragon. The floats were all small. There were maybe 5 or so larger flatbed trucks that were used for the base of a float, but the rest were pretty small. Instead of tractors, like in the Brownsburg parade, we saw boats: rescue boats, pleasure boats, military boats.
The best were the Filipino and Indonesian floats. Those two communities have a lot of pride in their heritages. One of our young women, Carolyn, was dressed as Princess Leia as part of the Galactica Internet Café’s entry. Another, Tammy, rode on a float that I don’t remember the sponsor of. We almost didn’t recognize her because she had a ton of makeup on, and she doesn’t normally wear any. One of our indigenous members was walking with the group from the Carers Center which promotes mental health. The parade lasted about 45 minutes and ended with the fire engines, ambulance and police cars. One thing that was missing that we are accustomed to seeing in American parades: politicians. Also there were no marching bands. Lots of floats were playing recorded music. The local dance school had a bunch of kids doing various fancy steps as they moved down the street. There was a Bootscootin’ Club. Who would’ve thought that line dancing was a big thing in Australia? Kevin Wylde said every town has a Bootscootin’ Club. I told the branch president we should enter a handcart next year. I don’t think he was too excited about that idea.
After the parade, all the floats were brought onto a huge field where the food vendors were set up. There was a stage where bands of various types would perform for the rest of the afternoon. We had the Robinsons and Wyldes come over to the house for dinner. Then we taught them to play Chickenfoot. After that we played “Hold to the Rod,” a Mormon version of Cranium. It was a lot of fun. The one thing that made me laugh was when one team was told to have someone hum, “Come, Ye Thankful People.” Nobody had ever heard of that song before. We always sing it as Thanksgiving back home. I guess they aren’t grateful here ;o)