The MLK "Parch"

In Fort Collins, not Denver:

Not a parade, not a march...

In Denver they call it a "Marade" the combination of the words March and Parade. All the newscasters are calling it a Marade, so Marade it must be.

Lots of people were there

Including Duncan Madog and his friend Ken

Nine Pipers Piping

At yet another parade:

Per Robert Browning:

Once more he stept into the street

And to his lips again

Laid his long pipe of smooth straight cane;

And ere he blew three notes (such sweet

Soft notes as yet musician's cunning

Never gave the enraptured air)

Of course this is a fractured blogified version of the Twelve Days of Christmas. There really could have been eleven pipers in this parade, but 'PhotoShop can Crop' and crop it does.

Having some kind of limited theme like this lets me pre-post a bunch of stuff while I'm actually busy with the usual holiday madness and it's likely that any real-time posts won't return until 2010. So what's left? 5, 7, and 10 I think. The prediction: Expect arthropods to dominate. They usually do.

Duncan Madog and the Green Warriors

Sounds like some sort of rock band, but


Duncan Madog marched with the Green Warriors at this year's CSU Homecoming Parade! He met lots of students and was given all kinds of treats from the CSU Vet school. He even got to ride shotgun in the official CSU command vehicle!

Duncan walked the entire route behind a group dancing to a continuous music loop of Ray Steven's "Witch Doctor" so now I can't seem to get "Ting Tang Walla Walla Bing Bang" out of my head. Help Me Please!

Estes Parade

at the Longs Peak Highland Games:

The parade: Pipers piping, kilts, plumed bonnets! The largest of its kind in the North America. Included: Dogs indigenous to the British Isles!

Fat Tour!

A sample of some pictures from the Tour de Fat:









I took pictures while riding. I held a still camera to take pictures in front of me and I had a video camera recording during the entire parade in back of me. I also recorded the audio form the Loyd Family Player's Samba band. Here's a sample:

New Belgium's Parade

It's that time of year again:

To get your doggie ready for yet another parade!

Duncan Madog's special car was outfitted with a digital video camera (at the top of car). We will have to see what kind of data we got, but not today!

Hirsute Child or What?... You be the judge!

We figured on some kind of carnival theme this year. Duncan wouldn't mind if we used him as a circus freak during the Tour de Fat Parade!

Jeanne and Duncan in costume!

Duncan is wearing a cute little red stripped shirt. We also had a pair of overalls for him, but we thought that it would be too hot for him to wear for the 2 hour parade.

...and this guy too!

Now to sift through the video and stills for the right moments of this year's Tour de Fat! This might take a while!

Annie the Railroad Dog Parade!

This year we made it to the parade:

Duncan Madog was there, of course!

We saw the statue last September here and then found Annie's grave here. Now all we needed was to get our own dog here and then get on over to the parade.

Our life is now complete!

A Cheyenne Parade!

This was fun:

We got into the town of Cheyenne

and we parked a block away from the parade route!

They had Yellowstone Park touring cars!

...and Yellowstone Park touring wagons!

There were cowgirls on a truck!

and pink tractors?

Frontiersmen on a float (displacement of native Americans)

Dazee's 1926 float of the Silver Crown (a Ponzi scheme before Charles Ponzi was born)

and Dazee's 1936 float 'Hell's Half Acre' (early prostitution in town)

a float depicting the last man to be hanged in Cheyenne? (capitol punishment)

...and bootleg whiskey? (illegal manufacture of spirits)

Oh, yes, there were more tractors!

And there were many, many fully operational horse-drawn coaches, carriages and wagons; more than in the Museu Nacioal dos Coches in Lisbon! Best yet, the area high school marching bands were in the parade as well!

Bananas!

Here's the set-up:

It's about bananas

So there's this guy. He's eating a banana. He's dressed as a banana. And he's riding a bike that is a banana! And it's a Chiquita banana!

Here's another from past years. It's a Chiquita also!

Everyone's Irish Today

Another reason for a parade!

There were bikers

And pipers

And a bunch of other stuff. I really don't know! I came too late to actually see the parade!

Oh, here are some archive pictures from Ireland:

John Cleer in Kilkenny

O'Flaherties in Dingle

Jamming with the locals after the pub closed.

The banjo in the above pictures no longer exists! It was made out of a baseball bat blank and a cooking pot in 1974. I played it for years until one day the strap broke and it fell onto some sharp rocks cracking the neck in half. 

Pipers in Old Town

MLK March & Celebration

At 11a.m. the community march started at Old Town Square and finished at the CSU Lory Student Center

It was a nice day. The temp was 61 degrees, but a little windy.

The  celebration continued in Lory Student Center. The guest speaker was Dr. Denise Hall, intern minister of Foothills Unitarian Church (Hey! We know her!)

Tour de Fat: Over the top

More than just a weird bike or strange costume...

Patio table. Note the girl in front on the stool.

Battle Ship

Cardboard box robots plus extra friend who came as a wrapped gift box.

Kitchen Table

TV and Beer on a table

Couch

Bike tows car

Another couch

Flying machine

3-piece band

Baby Grand Piano (with working keyboard)

Tour de Fat: Bikz

2008 Tour de Fat on YouTube

We came early to take some pictures of the bikes.

Bug Boy Jimmy and the Wizard of Jeanne

There were some really weird bikes at this party!

The sneaker-wheel bike

the wheel-wheel bike

Acro-bikes

stretch bike

real fat tire bike

a bike on a bike

circus bike

man and woman bike

unicycle carrier bike

goofy bike

Roadside Animals: Tour de Fat

Here's a small collection of some of the real animals at Tour de Fat:

Tour de Fat: Boyz and Giirlz

Tour de Fat is an annual pro-bike tour sponsored by New Belgium. The events, which take place in various large cities around the West, include music, beer, circus-type performances, bicycle dance troupes, and a large group bike ride. The main event is a bike trade, in which a local participant transfers the title to their vehicle to New Belgium, in exchange for a new commuter bike and trailer.
The bike parade is fashioned after a Mardi Gras style funeral procession for the automobile. This years music was provided by The March Fourth Marching Band. Does anyone in this town NOT have a costume?

We were there, along with these fine people:

THE BOYZ:

There was Santa!

And Waldo! (Hiding behind some Giirlz)

Dudes with red hats

Dudes with big hair and breasts!

Even dudes with big heads!

Transportation guards and tranys

Weird dudes and some guy with a mask!

A Space man (He does not have wings. There is a pac-man character behind him!)

Rambo

Safari dude

Easy rider

A pope with shorts

Wet-suit man?

Cro-Magnon Man
China Mam and Imperial Man

...and Elvis with his cell phone.

THE GIIRLZ:

Pink leopard lady

Plastic shorts lady

Rosie the Riveter

Cow girls

Night Lady

Bat Girl (What's she got in her mouth?)

Mother Nature

Wilma

Ocean Girl

Dyna Girl

Cult leader

Sunglass models

Joan of Arc (complete with tin foil hat)

Um, well...

Princess Lady

Chic Ladies

Just what the hell is this??

... details to follow next week!