REVIEW:
Cold breeze fails to deter Parade and its onlookers
83rd
Annual America's Thanksgiving Parade rolls down Woodward without
any major problems
PHOTO
BY GARRETT GODWIN / ©AMERICAJR.com
These parade
goers are having a great time.
DETROIT
– Crowds stretched themselves along the bleachers
and barricades off Woodward Avenue Thursday morning to take in
the 2009 America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
This year
provided the standard lineup of numerous marching bands, fantasy-tinged
vehicle floats, and clowns running about and waving to the crowd,
yet the parade was not without its surprises.
Among
the prominent surprises were an inflated, State Farm-sponsored
float of Sesame Street’s Elmo. A more adolescent-themed
float managed to employ a half-pipe ramp complete with skateboarders
and roller-bladers in action and air.
Meanwhile,
delights were also present for the adult crowd. The recognizable
of these turned out to be the Budweiser beer cart complete with
the trademark Clydesdales and Dalmatian at the helm. For the masculine
crowd, a scantily clad pack of girls strutted along pushing their
Hoover vacuum cleaners.
While
several floats highlighted renowned works of literature such as
the Wizard of Oz and Mother Goose, there were others that would
likely leave bystanders head-scratching. One such float from Blue
Cross took on a vegetation theme, yet had the Wiggles’ “Fruit
Salad” song on loop.
In a case
of primates dressed as primates, Marriot displayed a “Monkeys
Jumping on the Bed” float. However, the costumes worn by
the participants seemed to be reminiscent of an infamous music
video by the Bloodhound Gang.
Regarding
the size of such floats, there were instances when they became
a bit too close for comfort with the crowd. An early instance
of this involved a caterpillar/worm-resembling float that appeared
to nearly run into the barricades on one side of the street. Down
the street, an inflated float of a flower bent over nearly onto
onlookers.
Emma Keith
from Dexter, attending the parade with her boyfriend, even commented
that the Elmo float “Almost hit us in the face.” Of
course, at times the parade stalled in order to get the inflated
floats under the People Mover raised track.
The end
of the parade wouldn’t be a transitional one without the
involvement of Santa Claus. “He officially kicks off the
season,” said Bruce Birger of Bloomfield Hills, who was
attending the Parade for the 50th time.
Even without
the horse manure carts, this year’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
managed to be a impressively fun and tidy one.
PHOTO
BY GARRETT GODWIN / ©AMERICAJR.com
The
new Follow the Vegetable Road float was sponsored by Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Michigan.
PHOTO BY GARRETT GODWIN
/ ©AMERICAJR.com
The
Monkeys Jumping on the Bed float
PHOTO
BY GARRETT GODWIN / ©AMERICAJR.com
The
Elmo balloon soars high above Woodward Avenue.
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