Grand Floral Parade

Grand Floral Parade, 2024

Dear Liza,

Last Saturday was Portland’s Rose Parade, and we took the number 75 to the Red line train to get there. It was a delightful, sunny, breezy day, and thousands of folks had lined up before we got there!

Fortunately, we found a spot by the rose hedge along MLK Blvd. that was just right. Bees buzzed and flowers bloomed just for us.

The Parade had all the things a parade should have.
High school bands with great cadences,

Silly floats,

marching groups from Portland and around the world,

Therapy llamas,

and kids to share it all with.

There was also political drama, as we should have been able to predict. A group of protestors were demonstrating against the U.S. involvement in the Israeli-Gaza conflict and moved into the path of the parade.

Some of them laid down in the street snd blocked the road, so the marching groups just bunched up and went around them.

I couldn’t get very close, but here you can see, from left to right, the flags of the Peace Corps group as it marched by, the police line, and the Palestinian flags carried by the protestors.

The irony was a little heavy handed, but so it goes.

Everyone behaved themselves as well as could be expected, and the parade continued with the Police maintaining their line. It all made for a busy, entertaining, perfectly Portland Saturday morning.

And when it went from “Lots of Fun” to “Way Too Much Noise”, we caught the Red Line back to the Hollywood neighborhood and walked up to Fleur de Lis bakery for quiche and coffee and some quiet jazz by these two lovely people.

When our tummies were full and our souls at peace, we bussed back home for a well-deserved lay down.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Grand Floral Parade, Part 1

Dear Liza,

This past Saturday Grandpa Nelson, Auntie Bridgett and I headed off to watch the Grand Floral Parade. Rather than deal with parking and traffic, we took the Magic 15, then transferred to the B loop streetcar, which took us right to the parade route along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

As usual, the “before the parade” show was delightful. Kids, dogs, bubble machines and a wonderfully cool, sunny morning made for all the street theater you could wish for.

This lady and her dachshund were very entertaining, and the glass spires of the Portland Convention Center reflected the morning sun.

Grandpa Nelson enjoyed his coffee and waited impatiently for his beloved marching bands to some by.

And in the meantime, there were the pamphleteers. Quiet polite ones, loud obnoxious ones, all telling us (in large, brightly colored letters) that they knew THE WAY and we didn’t.

No, thanks anyway.

And soon the parade started, with the Care Oregon float featuring fresh veggies and Auntie Bridgett’s favorite, BEES!

I’ll tell you about the rest of the parade tomorrow.

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Other Parade

Dear Liza,

I have said before that one of my favorite things about living in a big city like Portland is watching the PEOPLE. The pandemic stole this from us for two years as we all stayed inside and avoided….. people.

Happily, our time at the Grand Floral Parade has begun to mend this gap with humanity. All sorts of wonderful folks were out enjoying the day.

Most of these were folks like us, visitors to the Parade. They made their own parade of kids, dogs, moms, and dads. We smiled at each other, chatted about the weather, petted the dogs and waved to the babies.

Just being able to watch kids play was good for my soul.

Other folks had a mission besides the parade. Several ladies were out circulating petitions to pass legislation to reduce gun violence. We signed, of course, and thanks them foe their work.

This fellow was out encouraging people to find peace in his way, politely handing out Bible verses.

All of them (even us!) were part of this other parade of humanity out and about. And I am glad for it.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Grand Floral Parade

Dear Liza,

This past weekend, we had another step back to post-Covid life when we got to attend the Grand Floral Parade. The parade was shorter this year, only running two miles instead of four, and stayed in the east side of the river, where we live.

Rather than deal with parking and traffic, we caught the Number 75 bus to the the Hollywood train station and caught the Trimet train to Lloyd Center. The whole trip took about 15 minutes and I got to chat with a nice fellow along the way.

We found a comfortable wall to sit on and enjoyed the people parade and the actual parade. One of the things I love about Portland’s Rose Parade is that there are floats and marching groups from so many local associations. The floats aren’t as fancy as in Pasadena’s Rose Parade. That’s okay.

The Electrical Workers Union marched a group of thirty Rosie the Riveters doing a cool routine.

There were Aztec dancers, Rabbis blowing shofars, Chinese dragons, Rose Queens, Japanese Taiko drummers, and clowns.

The dozen or so marching bands played wonderful music, with snappy cadences in between songs. I wish I could insert the video into this blog!

When the parade was all done and the street sweepers came by, we stretched our legs and walked up to McMinamen’s on Broadway for lunch. Tuna sandwiches and cider filled us up.

Rather than take the simple return trip home, however, we caught the train across the river. It’s nice, when you’re really tired, to just sit and watch the world go by. We rested and then caught the Magic Number 15 home. The rain, which had held off all day, poured within half an hour of getting home. Hooray!

After all the music, drumming, and walking, I was worn out and took a long nap. Some dinner and watching the Giants beat the Dodgers rounded out a pretty perfect day.

Love,

Grandma Judy