Perfect fine Saturday!

[susandennis]

I met machupicchu for breakfast and then we went to Life in a Day which was excellent. Years and years ago (late 80's I think) there was a giant coffee table book published called A Day in the Life. Soon Day in the Life books spring out from everywhere. I remember working on A Day in the Life of Charlotte. They were beautiful books of random photos all taken on one day by a wide variety of photographers.

Life in a Day is the same deal but video. And it was just really amazing.

The theater was downtown and when we got out - around 1 pm, people were lined up and sitting on the curb waiting for the parade through downtown. It's called the Torchlight parade because it is at night! There peops were settled in for a 7 hour wait!

I was able to find shade for most of the walk home so it was very nice. I stopped 3 blocks from home to get my hair cut. The place opened up about a year ago and it had been on my short list. After the last place fucked up, it rose to the top. She took way too long but she was really nice and caring and remembered my name and the place is nice and very clean and nice looking. $25 with tip. She did ask if she could style it and I said ok so I can't really tell what it looks like until I can wash it but I think it will be fine and dandy.

I followed the Mariner game on my phone but when I got home - in the 6th - I discovered that they were, indeed, actually winning! Nice. So now I'm watching then end.

The Torchlight Parade starts on the other side of town at Seattle Center where the Space Needle is. It winds through town and ends at the football stadium. When I first moved here, I could watch it perfectly from my terrace and for several years did just that - by myself or with friends and a cold beer. But then The Tree That I Hate got planted and grew up to totally obliterate my view. So now I just listen to the bands as they come through - amazed at how peppy they sound after having marched all that way on a hot Summer night.

Today as I came home I saw a band getting gathering for the bus that will take them to the parade start. They looked all shiny and fresh and ready to make march merry!

Comments

[annietopia.livejournal.com]

People love parades around here. They love them so much that they tend to mark spots on the route days before by setting up lawnchairs. You then hear on the news about fights breaking out the day of the parade because someone moved someone else's lawn chairs OR someone stole lawnchairs at night. Gotta love some parade drama.

A parade at night, though, sounds pretty damn cool.

[susandennis]

Oh that is wild. We don't get that kind of action here - at least I've never heard of it. And yeah, the night parade is really pretty spectacular. All the floats are beautifully lit.

[annietopia.livejournal.com]

I was not even thinking about the floats! Oh wow! That must be something to see. I wish we had night parades around here!

Never come between an Ohioan and a parade. NEVER! hehe

[machupicchu.livejournal.com]

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Hey, that nighttime floats beautifully lit bit is something I never thought about! It might be enough to make me go down and actually watch the thing next year. Also: I had no idea the parade route was that long, or that they go from north to south. The Pride Parade goes in the other direction and is only a mile long. This one is two and a half miles!

I remember watching part of the parade once from my own balcony at my Belltown apartment. I think that was when I witnessed a drug deal in the alley half a block from where about ten police officers were standing with their backs turned -- watching the parade.
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[howeird]

I love Torchlight. I've marched in it so many times, starting in 1967 with Seattle's All-City High School Marching Band, then with the UW band in 72 and every summer I was living in Seattle, or could get there for the required Thursday-before UW band rehearsal and ice cream social. Since school is out they invite alumni to fill in for the vacationing students. I almost made it this year, but the new Day Job got in the way. It's only about a mile, but marching and playing does wear me down. But worse than that are the little round bumps glued to the road where the car lanes are - the bands don't march in the lanes all the time.

The crowds on the route are always amazing, and it is something else to be applauded constantly for a mile. Quite the rush.

[susandennis]

How cool to hear about the 'other side' of the curb. I never actually thought about the effect of the crowd.

I can tell you, however, the UW band (which, actually, I had thought was all alumnae has always always been my favorite and is the one I was really referencing. When they hit this parking lot they sound like they just started playing 10 minutes and 1 block ago. Now that I cannot see the happenings, I still tell by the sound which band is the yellow t-shirts and always make a point of staying on the terrace and hearing them til the end.

I'm extra ordinarily impressed to 'know' one of their members. Kudos.

[howeird]

Blush. The UW band in Torchlight is those sophomores, juniors, seniors and grad students who are in town, plus any alumni who want to show up. That's usually about 100 students and 50 alumni. My favorite part as an alum is getting to play with the "new kids" who are always much better musicians than I am, and they just suck the grumpiness right out of me. There's an all-alumni band, HMBAA, which plays outside the stadium before every home football game and also sometimes fills in as pep band for the Seahawks, Sounders, and the Sonics when they still existed. I'm a life member of that, but it has been a few years since I've been able to come up to Seattle for a weekend during football season. It used to get me free parking and free admission to the games, we had a section behind the end zone and played a few times during the game, but I hear that may change this year. The also play in a lot of the SeaFaire parades. Money raised goes to several band scholarships.

[susandennis]

Amazingly cool.