/pəˈreιd/ n. 1 an organised procession consisting of a series of consecutive displays, performances, exhibits, etc. displayed by moving down a street past a crowd.
I think I’ve heard the saying, “everybody loves a parade”. I guess it’s true, but especially for the people of Fiji, I’m sure. I’ve seen two parades in the main street of Suva over the past month!
The first was for the 2006 Hibiscus Festival a few weeks ago. This is a big event in Suva, and something akin to the Royal Easter Show in NSW. I was at Deaf Christian Fellowship Camp for most of the festivities, but did make it back for the main parade. In the lead-up to the Festival there were several so-called “queens” (read, “beauty pageant contestants”) who were all competing for the Miss Hibiscus 2006 crown. And, for the first time ever, the general public could actually SMS in their votes on who they wanted to win!
So on the Saturday (the last day of Hibiscus), they all loaded themselves onto elaborate floats guarded by Fijian warriors, and paraded down Suva’s main street. There were lollies and chocolates being thrown out into the crowd, and lots of cheering and flag-waving. It was all very exciting, and the marching bands were awesome. I think it would be very unlikely that you would hear “Onward, Christian Soldiers” being played by a marching band down the main streets of Sydney nowadays. By the time the parade finished at Albert Park, it was packed chock full of stalls, and barbecues, and Ferris wheels. Man, the Ferris wheels! I promised Janet that I would call her to meet up at the Park, and so when I rang her, I said, “I’m standing near a bunch of three Ferris wheels all grouped together.” “From where I’m standing, I can see eight of them,” she said, “so that doesn’t help me very much!” You know how when you go on a roller coaster, you scream? You’ll have to give me your ideas about why that is. Is it because you’re enjoying yourself? Is it because you’re frightened? Or is it just the breakneck speed at which you travel around the ups and downs, the loops, and the sharp turns? You wouldn’t normally think that people on a Ferris wheel would be screaming, hey? … Usually they’re just a nice leisurely ride to the top (to get a bird’s-eye view of the park), and then you come down again, right? Well, the people riding on these Ferris wheels were screaming, and it was literally from fright, I’m sure. Unfortunately, my photo doesn’t really show how fast the thing is actually spinning. Needless to say, I didn’t actually ride one. They also had some dodgem cars and things. Janet (in her typically dry way) said, “This looks like the same kind of thing your mother would have ridden on thirty years ago … In fact, it’s probably the very same one your mother rode on thirty years ago!!” The big dent and gaping hole in the front of one of the cars was somewhat off-putting.
Yesterday marked the beginning of National Library Week, which is a great idea. There had been mention of it at my school, but I admit, I did forget about it. So, yesterday, when I went into the markets to buy some bananas ($3 FJD per bunch) and tomatoes ($2 FJD per bag), all the roads were blocked off, and there were police cars with sirens blaring, leading a procession of school kids (and of course, marching bands) down Victoria Parade. They were very cute, because they had all dressed up as their favourite story-book character. There were lots of fairy wings and pretty pink dresses, and I saw one little girl with a bright yellow wig (Goldilocks?). I caught sight of a Wicked Witch of the West, and then came this little group of young boys, wearing plain brown shorts and white singlets and carrying lanterns over their shoulders. I was a little confused for a while, then I saw one of them with a piece of paper pinned to his shirt: “seven dwarves”! All in all, it was really enjoyable … there were lots of adults involved too, really getting into the spirit of Library Week. It actually took me back to our “Book Week” parades we used to have in primary school. Ahh, memories!
This message was sent to my phone via text message the other day:
Anyway. Hope you’re all well. It’s been good to get e-mail updates from everyone. Thanks for writing to me!
Cheers, Andy
I think I’ve heard the saying, “everybody loves a parade”. I guess it’s true, but especially for the people of Fiji, I’m sure. I’ve seen two parades in the main street of Suva over the past month!
The first was for the 2006 Hibiscus Festival a few weeks ago. This is a big event in Suva, and something akin to the Royal Easter Show in NSW. I was at Deaf Christian Fellowship Camp for most of the festivities, but did make it back for the main parade. In the lead-up to the Festival there were several so-called “queens” (read, “beauty pageant contestants”) who were all competing for the Miss Hibiscus 2006 crown. And, for the first time ever, the general public could actually SMS in their votes on who they wanted to win!
So on the Saturday (the last day of Hibiscus), they all loaded themselves onto elaborate floats guarded by Fijian warriors, and paraded down Suva’s main street. There were lollies and chocolates being thrown out into the crowd, and lots of cheering and flag-waving. It was all very exciting, and the marching bands were awesome. I think it would be very unlikely that you would hear “Onward, Christian Soldiers” being played by a marching band down the main streets of Sydney nowadays. By the time the parade finished at Albert Park, it was packed chock full of stalls, and barbecues, and Ferris wheels. Man, the Ferris wheels! I promised Janet that I would call her to meet up at the Park, and so when I rang her, I said, “I’m standing near a bunch of three Ferris wheels all grouped together.” “From where I’m standing, I can see eight of them,” she said, “so that doesn’t help me very much!” You know how when you go on a roller coaster, you scream? You’ll have to give me your ideas about why that is. Is it because you’re enjoying yourself? Is it because you’re frightened? Or is it just the breakneck speed at which you travel around the ups and downs, the loops, and the sharp turns? You wouldn’t normally think that people on a Ferris wheel would be screaming, hey? … Usually they’re just a nice leisurely ride to the top (to get a bird’s-eye view of the park), and then you come down again, right? Well, the people riding on these Ferris wheels were screaming, and it was literally from fright, I’m sure. Unfortunately, my photo doesn’t really show how fast the thing is actually spinning. Needless to say, I didn’t actually ride one. They also had some dodgem cars and things. Janet (in her typically dry way) said, “This looks like the same kind of thing your mother would have ridden on thirty years ago … In fact, it’s probably the very same one your mother rode on thirty years ago!!” The big dent and gaping hole in the front of one of the cars was somewhat off-putting.
Yesterday marked the beginning of National Library Week, which is a great idea. There had been mention of it at my school, but I admit, I did forget about it. So, yesterday, when I went into the markets to buy some bananas ($3 FJD per bunch) and tomatoes ($2 FJD per bag), all the roads were blocked off, and there were police cars with sirens blaring, leading a procession of school kids (and of course, marching bands) down Victoria Parade. They were very cute, because they had all dressed up as their favourite story-book character. There were lots of fairy wings and pretty pink dresses, and I saw one little girl with a bright yellow wig (Goldilocks?). I caught sight of a Wicked Witch of the West, and then came this little group of young boys, wearing plain brown shorts and white singlets and carrying lanterns over their shoulders. I was a little confused for a while, then I saw one of them with a piece of paper pinned to his shirt: “seven dwarves”! All in all, it was really enjoyable … there were lots of adults involved too, really getting into the spirit of Library Week. It actually took me back to our “Book Week” parades we used to have in primary school. Ahh, memories!
This message was sent to my phone via text message the other day:
“The network crossover this weekend may affect all your … services at times between 11:30pm Sat n early Mon. Details available in Fiji Times.”
Anyway. Hope you’re all well. It’s been good to get e-mail updates from everyone. Thanks for writing to me!
Cheers, Andy
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