We love parades. The biggest parade we’ve been to is the Rose Bowl Parade or Tournament of Roses Parade – which, by the way, looks very different than what you see on TV. The smallest parade we attend is the one in my parent’s hometown in central Illinois. It’s a town of about a thousand people and doesn’t even have a stoplight, let alone a McDonald’s, but it does have a town square and a fabulous town picnic plus parade every year.

One of my lifetime goals is to be in a parade as a participant. And this year, that dream came true!

My parents are celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary this year, (and they are vehemently opposed to a party) so we decided to celebrate with a float in the parade. We decorated the mini-cooper clubman with 50’s and anniversary sentiments, stocked our car full of candy and balloons and set off. My niece and nephew decided to ride with me to toss candy to the waiting throngs of people out of the sunroof:

The parade is only about 7 blocks long but those 7 blocks are full of fun, people cheering, and hopped-up-on-sugar kids and adults alike. Everyone in the town turns out at the parade, with the main goal being to get candy. We had a ton of candy and we RAN OUT in 7 blocks – that’s how many people there were!

The prize for the best parade float was $75, and sadly, we didn’t win. But my parents were surprised at the 50th decorations, and we had a parade-load of fun participating.

Next year, I’m going to win that $75.