Coach Andrew Harrington

Summertime means parades galore, and as a newspaper reporter, I have been to countless over the years. The good, the bad, the hot and the rainy, I have seen them all. The vast majority of readers will probably not be organizing the next big parade this summer, but I would imagine the majority of people have been a part of a parade float at least once in their life. This column is for you, because the kids deserve as great of parades as we all fondly remember growing up.

What to give out

First of all, if I ever see another kid get handed a pamphlet at a parade I may lose my mind. If you are hard set on the pamphlet, you better staple it to a freezie at a minimum. Almost all of the small candy that is thrown out at parades is acceptable; however, we do need to use our heads a bit on which ones are going to shatter into a trillion pieces or melt before leaving the float.

As the years go by, it seems more and more businesses and organizations are attempting to hand things out other than candy. That is fine in theory, but let’s make sure the things we give are what people actually want. For kids, maybe some ice cream, some slime or a small toy.

Adults go to parades too, though, don’t think I forgot. If your business hands something out that an adult wants, I promise they will not forget who gave it to them. While very expensive and you would not have the ability to throw them to everyone, a nice summer hat would be my current dream grab at a parade.

How to decorate

You can blunder the throwables, and if you stick the landing on the float, it was still a solid performance. My opinions on the float are much stronger than my opinions on the items. Decorate your dang floats. Do you think anyone is going to remember the truck with a business decal on it that threw them a singular half-wrapped, fully-melted Tootsie Roll?

I understand you are in the parade because you are an important part of the community. That said, an hour-long line of undecorated cars is called traffic, not a parade.

Get wild, be memorable and relate it back to the organization you are representing. No more nonchalance at a parade. If you want to have a float, you have to make yourself look silly at least a little bit. Lastly, smile and interact with people. They are there because they are looking for a good time with their community. Bring the same energy and everyone is set for a great time.