Big Parade Involves Community

To the Editors:

On Saturday, May 4th, the entire City of Oberlin will come together to celebrate in the BIG PARADE. Over 100 groups, organizations, bands, dance troupes, churches, and other affiliations, embracing an effluvia of more than 3,000 people, will gather at 9:30 a.m. at the Eastwood Elementary School on East College street and PARADE to Tappan Square.
What is going on, you ask? Just about everything! Six llamas from Milwaukee, a life-size triceratops mounted on bicycles, The Certified Beauty Queen of Oberlin, Mobius the BFI recycling man, GIANT puppets, Mt. Zion of Oberlin’s magnificent float, Doug Handyside’s Dixieland Band, three tractors, the O-Men Morris Dancers, your favorite professors wearing hats, an Art-car dressed like the ocean, a marching band of boomboxes, fancy dressed-up dogs, Girl Scouts, little kids dressed like astronauts, a 40 ft. quilt. And 84 other surprises, all of which are even more beautiful than the llamas. (Maybe even YOU!)
After all that walking, when we at last arrive in Tappan Square, we will celebrate with free food (grilled and otherwise, meatless and meated), free other things to imbibe, and your favorite vendors for financially usurping consumptive opportunities, with more music and dance than you can count on the digital appendages of your body (your favorite band is playing — Guaranteed!), with activities (dunk the professor — kiss the hottie), and inactivities (lying in the sun), productions (make a mural!) and reproductions (the Al Green cover band, perhaps? Something safe, anyway, we hope). And many, many, many other amazing things.
This is an open letter of invitation: if you are not already planning to participate, you’ll be pleased to know that there are only a lot of ways to get involved.
First: if it is before 5 p.m. today, go to the SE corner of Tappan! There are four major news crews filming our exuberant excitement.
Next: COME ON SATURDAY the 28th of April and help make floats, puppets, masks, and other festive locomotive devices from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. in the Williams Ice Arena (now known as the BIG PARADE WORKSHOP). Also come all of next week, every day from today until the BIG PARADE, from 1-6 p.m. at the Ice Rink. We have supplies: we need your creativity!
If you are talented (breathe fire, walk on stilts, know how to whistle), and excited (as you should be!), send an e-mail to oberlinparade@hotmail.com, or call the Big Parade logistical headquarters at 774-3484. Or stop by the Ice Rink
After all, Everyone Loves a BIG PARADE!

–James Blachy
College senior