4th of July parades...

[legendsofthefog]

We are getting ready to participate in a couple of local 4th of July parades. We plan to build a float towed by a tractor. We plan to use one of our hay wagons and dress 15 or so actors up to march the streets. Has anyone participated in parades in the past??? Any pictures or movies available? Any good ideas?

[N2SPOOKINU]

Legend we are in a parade just about every weekend now with all the festivals going on. We pass out t-shirts, coolie cups, wrist bands, and candy. They look forward to seeing the worlds largest casket coming down the street being pulled by our 67 hearse. It's great for promotions. The local radio stations love riding in it also. The parades are a great way to keep your haunt in the back of their minds until the season opens. It's great to pass out t-shirts and see how many people wear them the next day to the festival. Advertising,Advertising Advertising! Here are some pics of our car and casket.
Greg
Fearfest

[Gore Galore]

The casket is awesome Greg,

We recommend to EVERY Customer who buys any of our costumes, to participate in all parades, street fests they can find.

Parades and Street fests are one of the best investments you can make to your marketing. It usually doesn't cost anything but your time. The rewards to your attendance are immeasurable, and it is just plain fun. When we are walking or running down the street in our costumes, and people are screaming. How can you not be so very proud, and excited to be able to get this kind of response or attention.

I honestly believe every haunt should participate in any local street fest, parade, or sporting event they can within an hour away of your event.

[tchaunt]

I would LOVE to have a float as great as yours Greg--heck, I'd be happy with just having a float--but yours is the God of haunt floats. Anyway, Patrick, I've never done a parade, but I can see this problem coming up: little kids. You'll have to make sure to not use your incredibly intense costumes or make-up effects.

[legendsofthefog]

Thanks for the response..

I agree, the coffin float is awesome!!! We have a couple of weeks to design and put something together... I'm not sure if its going to be the best in the world, but it'll do.
I haven't put much thought into the little kid thing yet... but we'll definetly put something together for all ages.
I'll post some pictures after the parades.

[N2SPOOKINU]

Thanks for all the kind words about our casket. As far as intense costumes you can have them just keep them close to the float and dont get to crazy. Gore galores costumes work great for parades!!!! The large size of them makes them "larger than life" which is what you are trying to do....GET NOTICED AND REMEMBERED!
FYI something we are thinking about trying this year is passing out iceepops to the people waiting on the streets. Nothings better than getting an ice cold iceepop on a hot summer day. Just a little dry ice and they stay good and cold. Whats your thoughts on this idea?
Greg
Fearfest

[Darkangel]

Not always successful...

Parades can be good but it seems you guys are only focusing on the positives. I have seen and heard haunts doing parades in the summer and people frowned upon it. You get negative comments and people looking at you as a wierdo and saying "It's not Halloween yet" and things like that. Some people get offended by seeing haunts trying to promote in family activities. In some areas people just do not want to see Halloween related things until its proper time. In the fall they love you and can't get enough, the rest of the year they avoid you like the plague...


Darkangel

[Jim Warfield]

Right, Dark Angel.

Some parades are open to just anything as far as the machinery and style or no style as far as what historic event is being celebrated.
Would we haunters like to see non-haunt, non-October Seasonal floats and displays in Our Halloween parade?
"HHHHMMM?"
Smaller parades might be more concerned with maintaining the theme and purpose of the celebration, since it is a small parade.
Parades around here seem to always include alot of fire trucks with deafening sirens going non-stop (wonder why they are so few curbside spectators?)
I find almost anything interesting but many will not.
I was in a parade that a guy drove a 1950 Chevy 2 ton truck that had one of the first corn shellers built on to it, it was massive, complicated and a huge ball of dirt, grease and rust! Imagine the likes of such a thing in a parade with The Corvette Club!
A Corvette Club seemed to be pretty pizzt when my old Spookmobile was put leading them in a parade, probably because the home-made pointy front end I built on the 79 Thunderbird did resemble a Corvette (even though I was copying the Plymouth Superbird.)
People were snarling and giving me hatefull looks when I was in a parade in a town that had a charity haunted house, and I don't thing it was my imagination since the person riding with me in the car said the same thing.

[OdetteDespairr]

Here in Columbus Ohio we do a parade each year called the DooDah parade its a crazy wacky parade that basically anyone can participate in we're famous for the crazy political statements made by many of the marchers, our group always gets a great reaction from the viewers, it was soooo much fun last year, it poured rain and we got soaked and everyones makeup ran who wasnt in prosthetics, but its great advertising for us and we always get a ton of fun scares from unepecting parade goers

Jackie

[shawnc]

Parades can be good but it seems you guys are only focusing on the positives. I have seen and heard haunts doing parades in the summer and people frowned upon it. You get negative comments and people looking at you as a wierdo and saying "It's not Halloween yet" and things like that. Some people get offended by seeing haunts trying to promote in family activities. In some areas people just do not want to see Halloween related things until its proper time. In the fall they love you and can't get enough, the rest of the year they avoid you like the plague...


Darkangel

Good points. The Fourth of July is a patriotic holiday, and with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan going on a coffin, a zombie soldier or something similar might be seen by some as in bad taste or hurtful to the families of fallen soldiers who might be at the parade.

[Karl Fields]

parades

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwEOR...e=channel_page

[Kevin Dells]

Parades are very good publicity but as mentioned watch when your doing the parade that is not a holiday that does in some way or form represent a soldiers holiday. The 4th and memorial days parades will be seen by people as a "I can't believe this crap is marching" parade.

BUT other parades and festivals are real good advertising. When we marched we always gave candy and made sure the montsers were not scaring!! If your following a marching band have your monsters dance, people think this is hilarious.

Gore Galore type costumes are great as long as the weathers not to hot and have your actor dress at the very last second. I did a march as a GG Bone warrior in 2007 and i was literally dripping from every pore by the time i was half way.

We got to the end and a newscrew stopped me to interveiw about the haunt, they wanted a quick 10 second shot that had me attacking the newslady to be used as a breakaway for the evening news(leading into a commercial).

When we got the camera que, she did her thing and i walked up from behind and wrapped my claws around her as if attacking, being a lot taller then her all the sweat that had accumulated in my arm gear dumped all over her. She was sooo grossed out!

I thought it was funny as hell, i got a true reaction out of her!

[tchaunt]

xD I love that story! That would be me for sure--dumping the sweat. I could sweat that bad on a cold day.

[Gore Galore]

Kevin,

I can also appreciate the sweat story too.
I have worked parades more times than I can count. Some wearing 15' rod puppets, but most wearing 10' costumes

You know, any mascot costume will make you sweat profusely?
Have you ever worn one. All that fur, puppet fleece, and foam. No air.......I can't breathe.......
BUT it was still worth the crowd impact for one night of sweat I am sure. It always is for our local haunt.
You weren't even wearing one of the big ones that really get a crowd fired up.
When we work Parades we have atleast 2 costumes 10' tall and we do a figure 8 pattern from one side of the Parade route to the other with ohhhhs, ahhhhs, and screaming patrons ALL along the way. We can swoop in and get right on top of people in the crowd and reach 3 to 4 persons deep into the crowd. They never expect you can move in so close and have such awesome control.
The latex suits like you wore aren't the best for parades since you have to walk on those platforms. You can't move as fast. They are designed more for inside a Haunt to make you tower in close quarters with your patrons. It is difficult to wear those platforms and walk a long distance.
But that is exactly what the Giant Costumes www.gore-galore.com/costumes.php are for. I am sure we will be doing the Fall Festival Parade this year and if we do I will make sure and get Video of us in the Parade. I think it would be a smart idea to have Parade Video anyway.
http://www.nutclub.org/component/opt...page/Itemid,1/

And the Freedom Festival is coming up shortly too.
http://www.evansvillefreedomfestival.org/

Karl,
thanks for posting the video.
I love watching the slider.
It really adds to the effect especially with the earth metal on his shoes.

[scubadog]

Here is a picture of our Memorial Day parade, We had alot of great comments on it. We plan on doing a couple of 4th of July parades and labor day parades.