Tag Archives: balloons

Indy 500 Festival Parade 2016: Before the Music

May 31, 2016 By in Conventions & Events, Indiana Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
DARK THOMAS.

Meanwhile behind the scenes, things were falling apart.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This year marked the sixth time my wife and I attended the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis. It’s an annual date-day tradition for us —- partly to see the floats and high school marching bands, partly for the famous names and partly because I love the sight of a bustling downtown Indianapolis. The next six entries (to be posted over the next few days as quickly as time and attention span permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped. In many cases, encores and additional takes of specific subjects may be available if anyone out there is interested in seeing more, or is looking for a loved one who was in one of the many marching bands that day. For first-time MCC visitors, please note my wife and I are relative amateurs, absolutely not trained professional photographers, sharing these from a hobbyist standpoint because fun and joy.

Part 6, the grand finale: hours before the parade began, Anne and I walked up and down Meridian Street and Pennsylvania, the parallel north-south legs of the parade route, to peek behind the curtains at some of the participating teams and objects as they got their acts together before the official proceedings commenced for an adoring, sweating public. I participated in a 500 Festival Parade myself several years ago, but never took much time to look beyond my own group. Until now.

Right this way for a very special MCC miniseries finale!

Indy 500 Festival Parade 2016 Photos #4: Floats and Balloons

May 30, 2016 By in Conventions & Events, Indiana Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Angry Bird Red!

My wife and I are among the six people worldwide who’ve never played any version of Angry Birds, but I think this one’s the main character and his name is J. Reddington Angryshire.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This year marked the sixth time my wife and I attended the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis. It’s an annual date-day tradition for us —- partly to see the floats and high school marching bands, partly for the famous names and partly because I love the sight of a bustling downtown Indianapolis. The next six entries (to be posted over the next few days as quickly as time and attention span permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped. In many cases, encores and additional takes of specific subjects may be available if anyone out there is interested in seeing more, or is looking for a loved one who was in one of the many marching bands that day. For first-time MCC visitors, please note my wife and I are relative amateurs, absolutely not trained professional photographers, sharing these from a hobbyist standpoint because fun and joy.

In this entry: the balloons and floats that are an integral component of every worthy large-scale parade. Cartoon characters, celebrations of local corporate concerns, salutes to worthy organizations, and, most importantly, more Angry Birds.

Right this way for someone’s favorite cartoon characters and more!

Indy 500 Festival Parade 2015 Photos, Part 4 of 6: Floats and Balloons

May 25, 2015 By in Indiana Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Shrek!

The super-sized avatar of Mike Myers brings you a humongous dose of Memorial Day weekend cheer!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This year marked the fifth time my wife and I attended the Indy 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis. It’s an annual date-day tradition for us — partly to see the floats and high school marching bands, partly for the famous names (even if the rest of the audience loves them more than we do), and partly because I love the sight of a bustling downtown Indianapolis (which needs to happen every single weekend ever).

The next six entries (to be posted over the next few days as quickly as time and attention span permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped.

Part Four, then: floats! Balloons! Giant props! People in fuzzy costumes! And other mandatory components of all the greatest parades ever.

Right this way for inflatable heroes, sincere floats, and the star of a series that ran three seasons and a movie!

Indy 500 Festival Parade 2014 Photos, Part 5 of 5: the Blooper Reel

May 26, 2014 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This year marked the fourth time my wife and I attended the Indy 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis. The next five entries (to be posted over the next three days as quickly as time and endurance permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped. In many cases, encores and additional takes of specific subjects may be available if anyone out there is interested in seeing more, or is looking for a loved one who was in one of the many marching bands that day. For first-time MCC visitors, please note my wife and I are relative amateurs, obviously not trained professional photographers, sharing these from a hobbyist standpoint because fun and joy.

What we’ve seen so far:

Part 1: The Special Guests
Part 2: Marching Bands and Other Groups
Part 3: Some of Your Qualifying Drivers
Part 4: Floats and Balloons!

Here in Part 5, the grand finale: pics of parade participants in peculiar positions. Exhibit A: the mysteriously patriotic float known as “Michael the Eagle” ran into trouble on Monument Circle when a tree caught his Uncle Sam hat and threatened to bowl him over like a tenpin. Oh, the humanity!

Michael the Eagle Has Landed!

Right this way for the float that nearly sunk, tourists in the parade, and a fond farewell!

Indy 500 Festival Parade 2014 Photos, Part 4 of 5: Floats and Balloons!

May 26, 2014 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This year marked the fourth time my wife and I attended the Indy 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis. The next five entries (to be posted over the next three days as quickly as time and endurance permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped. In many cases, encores and additional takes of specific subjects may be available if anyone out there is interested in seeing more, or is looking for a loved one who was in one of the many marching bands that day. For first-time MCC visitors, please note my wife and I are relative amateurs, obviously not trained professional photographers, sharing these from a hobbyist standpoint because fun and joy.

Part One featured the singers, actors, and other celebrities who joined this year’s parade. Part Two featured glimpses of all the marching bands who rocked the streets. Part Three were the drivers we were fortunate enough to capture. Here in Part Four, we turn to a serious study of the most essential component to any viable parade: floats and balloons!

As a shout-out to our niece, we’ll let sugary-sweet Strawberry Shortcake lead the pack.

Strawberry Shortcake!

Right this way for envoys from the worlds of Jim Henson, Dr. Seuss, PBS, and more!

GenCon 2013 Photos, Part 6 of 6: Games, Cards, and Other Treasures

August 20, 2013 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: souvenirs from the 2013 edition of that shindig of shindigs called GenCon. Captured so far in our retrospective:

* Part One: this year’s Costume Contest winners.
* Part Two: other Costume Contest participants.
* Part Three: still other Costume Contest participants.
* Part Four: still other costumes, but not in the official contest.
* Part Five: if you guessed “costumes”, you win!

In our long-awaited miniseries finale, we look back at the scenery, the objects, and the guests of GenCon that crossed paths with our party. According to a report today on their official Facebook page, this year’s spectacle drew a record-setting 49,000 unique visitors in attendance. And everywhere around us, everyone had options to keep them busy in this massive celebration of free-time preoccupations.

GenCon 2013 Exhibit Hall

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Indy 500 Festival Parade 2013 Photos, Part 5 of 5: Balloons and Floats for the Win

May 27, 2013 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

The next five entries (to be posted over Memorial Day Weekend as quickly as time and endurance permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped. In many cases, encores and additional takes of specific subjects may be available if anyone out there is interested in seeing more, or is looking for a loved one who was in one of the many marching bands that day. For first-time MCC visitors, please note my wife and I are relative amateurs, obviously not trained professional photographers, sharing these from a hobbyist standpoint because of fun Internet joyfulness.

The grand finale: giant inflatables and dioramas! First in line is my personal favorite of the bunch — Super Grover!

Super Grover, 500 Festival Parade 2013, Indianapolis

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