June 6, 2005

Portland By Starlight

Saturday was the Rose Festival's Starlight Parade. The Rose Festival centers around the waterfront, my new backyard. This is where living downtown came in really handy -- I didn't have to fight the crowds on buses, MAX and automobile to get to the parade. I walked to 6th and Burnside, hung out for a while, taking pictures and enjoying the loud, amusing commentary from a nearby couple. When the parade ended, I hightailed it back home on foot (with a stop at Backspace for cafe au lait).

I usually feel "if you've seen one parade..." but it was neat to see the Starlight again. The last time I saw it in person, I was probably 3 or 4 years old. At that young age, being in downtown Portland at night was an immensely exciting experience. I'm sure I fell asleep before the end of the parade. This time, I started out feeling too cool for the parade nonsense, but I was soon waving and yelling and feeling excited with all the other kids. It was lovely. I could wish for a faster camera lens, but I'm happy with a few shots.

No caption necessary here.

The Rose Festival Court was dressed in matching pink tracksuits, and had their own lighting crew!

A tuba player from the Benson High School band.

The Cloud City Squad Star Wars roleplaying group was my favorite group. They have much better parade pictures on their website.

Posted by mara at 8:15 PM