It seemed to be a little more crowded than ever before. There were a LOT of people out there!! We enjoyed it and there could not have been better weather. I remember years where, even wrapped in a coat AND blanket, we were frozen to the bone afterwards!
i thought it was good but i havent been to a clayton christmas parade in years i do mean years my daughter was little LOL she is now 17.
We sat right were the parade first started...did anyone see that car get towed? ha ha. That would have s*cked. Anyway, we really enjoyed it. I got PEGGED several times by flying candy. It kind of hurt, lol.
I agree with you. More crowded this year than it was before. We were at the bakery area and we witnessed a group of punk kids harrassing a parade mascot by throwing candies at him. The mascot got mad, took off his face costume, and yelled at kids to stop throwing candies at him. Sheriff went over and told several kids to leave. Luckily our kid didn't see this incident.
In my theology class at Campbell they said X was Greek for Christ and therefor an appropriate abbreviation for Christians and non Christians alike. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmas
This is probably my 10th time at it and there was definitely a crowd. I definitely miss the hot chocolate from the coffee shop cause of the weather. Wish they would put the Helping Hands Mission first as opposed to next to last because of the chaos they produce the whole length of the parade route. Gas prices must be taking a toll on the Shriner folks cause there were alot missing. Who was that driving the WQDR truck? I know who it was.....
It was "ok", but not as good as the previous two years. There were a number of absentees this year. I didn't see Caterpillar participate, the big shopping cart (Goodness Grows) was not there and a very noticable Dunn Clowns were not there either. To me, the Dunn Clowns really help the middle of the parades usually and the animated animals are not quite as entertaining. That's just part of it, though. There was plenty of candy for sure, but all in all, it wasn't as good as in recent years. Heck, two or three years ago it was like a little Raleigh parade and it seemed to go on for an hour and a half. Oh, and I will give credit where its due...nice touch Dr. Riccobene handing out toothbrushes with all the others throwing candy.
I thought it was pretty good. My grandkids walked away with more candy than they got at Halloween. No. nor was he "Malcolm the Tenth" either.
According to one of the WJH Band Moms, their 'hard cost' to show up and play is around $400-$500, and the Clayton Chamber only pays an appearance fee of $200. According to her, simple economics, but somehow, I smell politics.
It kind of rubs me the wrong way that a band expects to be paid to participate in a local home town parade. I grew up in a county with 3 towns having Christmas parades. It was tradition (and reasonable to me) that the county's high school bands marched in all these parades. I realize Johnston County is bigger than where I grew up, but I think a high school band should be marching in the towns where their students live. I'm still sitting here shaking my head that a band would not march in a hometown parade because the money isn't good enough. It's just weird to me that money is even in the equation here. Perhaps I'm just getting old and stuck in my ways. This is just one indication to me that today's high school marching bands have got their priorities a little messed up. Hey look at us - we won competitions all over the country and got invited to play in the big such-and-such parade! Maybe they should look at participation in local parades as paying back the huge investment that many local companies and individuals have made into their programs. It sounds like maybe someone has forgotten who helped pay their way to all those competitions, etc.
WOAH nellie (rrgreenenc)! Are you saying that they expected to get PAID for being in the Christmas Parade? WTH??? :shock::shock::shock: They should be proud to do it for FREE! I probably just need to go to bed, before I hurt someone today. :?
Good Grief!! WJ doesn’t expect to get paid to march in a parade. The money the towns offer help offset the costs of getting the bands to and from the parade. Apparently back when you guys were in school, I’m sure your band didn’t have to pay a dollar a mile per bus PLUS pay for the gas used PLUS pay bus drivers to drive to all of your local parades. I’m also quite sure that it didn’t take 6 buses to get your band there. Johnston County should give them use of the buses for free, but this is 2007.
Thanks for setting that straight Kaiser. Like you said, unfortunately gas and drivers for the buses are not provided by the county. The band never makes money off of parades. It's to help absorb some of the costs. West Johnston was in the Four Oaks parade a couple of weeks ago and will be in the Smithfield parade this coming Thursday evening. The Band and parents always appreciate all of the support of the community! Please come see the band Thursday in Smithfield, or come to the Christmas concert on Sunday afternoon at the school!
yes, that is exactly what she is saying...and that could possibly be THE most ridiculous thing I have heard in a couple of days..... I get the impression that WJHS Band might be a little big too big for their uniforms these days.....interesting.
That's so far from the truth it hurts! Real shame that some always want to find the most negative out of anything or anyone positive.
