Cruzan Christmas Festival - Adult Parade

Ric and I went to the adult parade for the first time yesterday. I thought I'd give you some of my impressions.

1. Parade day is a marathon, definitely not a sprint. We planned on watching the parade from the park in front of the fort, near the viewing stand. We parked behind the ball park at about 10. By 10:30 we had our seats in the park in the shade. This area was populated by family groups, many more juice boxes that beer bottles. It was perfect for us, but might be a little tame for others. I have some mobility issues and can't walk/stand for 6-8 hours. So we brought our chairs, a cooler with ice and tea, and a bag with sunscreen, books, magazines, etc. Food was nearby, as were toilets. Armstrong ice cream was right across the park!

So we get there at 10:30 and the first of the parade passes at 1 pm - remember we were at the very end of the route. The parade lasted FIVE, FIVE hours. The last group passed us exactly at 6 pm. There were very few gaps, but each group was performing for the dignitaries at the viewing stand, so we did have some down time. But, my god, FIVE hours. I swear that every person on-island who wasn't watching the parade must have been IN the parade. Small children near us watched the parade, took 2 hour naps and could still watch more parade. We parked perfectly and were on our was very quickly afterwards.

2. West Indian men and women are really secure about their body images. Either that or much rum must have been consumed just before the parade. We loved the dance troupes. For those who don't know, these are groups of adult men and women- there were 15 or 20 troupes in the parade - who dress up in flashy costumes and dance down the parade route usually led by a person in a coordinating costume that includes a HUGE headdress-type attachment. Not such a good description, sorry. Back to my point. The costumes are heavy on feathers, boas, streamers, flags, etc and light on actual costume -- think a 1960's 2-piece bathing suit. The people wearing them are ordinary folks, with many middle aged members. Many more plus-sized people than size 6s. They were having a wonderful time and the crowd loved them all. Ok, in the interest in truth in reporting, a few people of a very large size did inspire some less-than-kind comments from my immediate neighbors. But seriously, why can't we all be that comfortable in our skins?

3. Gender-bending at the parade. There were a couple of instances where very effeminate-looking young men were part of a troupe or other group. In one case, a young man was the only male in a majorette troupe of girls. Very little comment from my neighbors.

All in all it was worth the time and effort. A nice warm-up for Madri Croix.