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FLRC Newsletter - Apr 2004 |
| A good time, guaranteed! | |
For the second year, the Finger Lakes Runners Club has been invited to participate in the 2004 Ithaca Festival Parade. This annual rite-of-being here is the first weekend in June. The parade itself is the evening of Thursday, June 3.
Okay, so we had to apply in order to be invited. It is an honor just the same. The parade is great fun, both to watch and to march in.
Last year, our first in attendance, we had great placement, right in the middle of the grand parade, just behind some dogs (which I must say we showed up, doing pride to our species) and well ahead of the loud, smelly chain saw gang. We came with few props, but marched with great pride just the same, and as I say, made a favorable impression (vis-à-vis the mutts anyway) upon the populace - we have to assume mostly run-less - of our fearful city.
Our second objective after having fun is to entice that population to at least consider "the sort of thing we do" as being something that they might like to do as well. A couple of years ago, I envisioned our mass participation in the parade as a great means, a grand venue for outreach. It is a great opportunity to show our faces, show our shoes, and whatever else we can think of... and put it together.
So, number one, how about we all show up. We will have a great time. Be there: 6pm, Thursday June 3, at Washington Park, which is between Buffalo, Court, Washington, and Park on Ithaca's West Side. The parade takes off at 7pm. I guarantee you not only won't regret it, but you will have a good time.
As I recall saying right afterward, it's like the last mile of a big city marathon, the sidewalks spilling over with a very enthusiastic crowd of people cheering you on.
And number two (though chronologically before number one) what can we think of? What can we put together? Not a necessity, but it would be nice to put on a memorable little show. It would get attention, give our efforts some duration in others' minds (and our own) - perhaps demonstrate our commitment to the values we wish to make more commonplace.
Applicable to both number one and two (above) is that it would be great to get people of a wide variety of ages involved, and people who are involved in different varieties or aspects of running (also known as “serious-ness'). I also got to thinking that maybe some youngsters and young adults, family members of runners perhaps, would really get into making a nice float.
Last year, three of us got together to begin planning, later in the year than it is now, what was our first parade. Several others helped put it together but, admittedly, it wasn't anything grand. Elegant perhaps, at least compared to what the dogs put on, or down, at the time anyway. I wouldn't put anything past a good dog, and I wouldn't put anything as being beyond us! Wouldn't it be nice if we put a little more effort into this? A float, for example, could be something we would re-use in future parades, as our numbers increase, which would also be nice. How about we use the FLRC list-serve, and phone system as needed, to get something going?
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