Spring has finally decided to show up around here. And because of that, we couldn't keep ourselves from being outside all weekend. After a full two days of ballet class, lots of house projects, errands and a very fun birthday party . . . our mini-break from the workday grind culminated in a trip to downtown Ann Arbor for an event called the FestiFools parade. The festival featured giant puppets dancing in the streets to the beats of the University of Michigan percussion group.
I admit that I was only mildly interested in the event at first . . . but a few minutes in the presence of a ton of "fools" was enough to convince me that we made the right choice. That, and the fact that the entire population of Ann Arbor seemed to converge on those few blocks of Main street. I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera. [The photo above comes from a bunch of photos of the event posted on flickr. We were standing near that corner -- right by Martin.] But I was comforted by the fact that this event doesn't seem to be going anywhere. My family WILL be checking it out again next year. Here's a little clip from the 2007 festival.
My favorite "puppet" from this year's parade was a giant 12-foot walking tabby cat -- operated by two humans inside. It was accompanied by large brown and gray mice. I do believe I saw it "poop" a 3-foot brown tubular object. Apparently, it hurled a hairball as well but I missed that. The throng went nuts with these antics. I heard someone near me say "nothing like a little potty humor to get the crowd going." True.
[As luck would have it, I found a YouTube video of this very same cat -- film taken in Chicago's Millennium Park. I guess this cat gets around.]
It was very silly way to enjoy the gorgeous weather and life in general. Audrey loved it -- spending a lot of time on her daddy's shoulders trying to get the best view. And Vivian? She slept through the whole thing. Amazing.
Update: I was tipped off by another local blogger that there are lots of photos of the festival on Flickr. The tabby cat is in there, as well as the cheese grater that Audrey loved so much. ;-)
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1 comment:
My observation in life is that it is the dots and not the exclamation marks we remember thru time. It's not the grand event we attended but rather it is a pooping cat balloon or a simple comment from a loved one, etc.
You are wise to record these events so that you can revisit not only what you did but how you felt about the day
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