Arrive Magazine - November/December, 2008

Can’t Make the Parade?

Visit the Museum

All you have to do is make your way to Shenandoah Caverns, Va., in Shenandoah National Park. Think of this unusual museum as an opportunity to admire floats at your own pace. “It’s a reverse parade—the tourists parade past the floats,” says Sharon Campbell, a guide at the 40,000-square-foot cavern-side attraction.

“The American Celebration on Parade,” which opened eight years ago, owes its existence to the Hargrove family. The family has been building floats for presidential Inaugural Parades since 1949 and Harry Truman. It has also made floats for Philadelphia’s Mummers parades. And what it doesn’t build it tries to collect. Examples include floats from Rose Bowl parades that were stored in a warehouse for years until a building could be built big enough to show them off.

Other finds include a giant flag float built for Ronald Reagan’s 1985 inauguration and recycled at several subsequent inaugural events. And don’t miss the Conestoga wagon that honored Vice President Dick Cheney in 2001 and 2005. In the tradition of many parades, it was built close to deadline, in just 20 days, after Florida’s hanging chads delayed the naming of the winner of the 2000 presidential election.

past tens of thousands of revelers. The boats, festooned with lights, compete for best Christmas theme, “best illuminated” and best in parade. One year, Perry recalls, a sailboat skipper mounted an illuminated 35-foot-tall Angel Gabriel, complete with horn and wings with a trailing robe. Another year a power boat chugged by under a giant menorah. Regulars keep warm by grabbing ringside seats inside adjacent restaurants and hotels. Hint: Book early.

Silver Bells

What: Ukrop’s Christmas Parade When: Saturday, Dec. 6

Where: Richmond, Va.

Why: The Richmond Christmas Parade is celebrating its 25th year, and city officials say the operative word is “bigger.” That’s no small ambition: About 5,000 people paraded through town last year, and the event drew more than a quarter of a million spectators. You never know who’s going to show up; one year singer Paul Simon shot a music video, Proof, during the parade,

and as he danced and sang his way along the route, he was joined by Chevy Chase and Steve Martin, who—well, you just have to see it ( youtube.com/ watch?v=O_002KDRoKM).

Along with marching bands, drill units, Santa Claus and the customary floats, watch for children’s TV and cartoon characters like Rocky, Bullwinkle and Ms. (Hello) Kitty. Some 600 volunteers make it all come together, up to 400 of them detailed to steer the balloon figures down the street. “The goal for the next few years is to make the parade and that entire weekend a destination event throughout the region,” says organizing committee chairman John Melleky.

Christmas Mother

What: A Village Christmas Parade When: Saturday, Dec. 13

Where: Powhatan, Va.

Why: Picture a precision unit of motorized port-a-johns buzzing down a street called Old Buckingham Road, a hole cut in their doors so the drivers can see where they are going as they toss

rolls of toilet paper to startled spectators. Powhatan, a town of just 27,000 about 25 miles west of Richmond, may reflect old-fashioned village values, but it also knows how to throw a holiday party. A bonfire warms residents as they first check out the wares and food offerings at booths set up on the courthouse square. Then it’s off to the parade to watch local business leaders, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, firefighters, antique cars, clowns and horses join a steel drum band. This will be the 16th edition of the two-and-a-half-mile event. While Santa Claus is a key figure in the parade, the star here is Mother Christmas, a costumed local who gathers $3,000 to $4,000 in cash from the crowd to be donated to charity.