Henry and I had a great time yesterday as we rolled down the main drag of Yarrow with our custom-built parade float, but that achievement is now in our rear-view mirror, and it is time to look forward once again. Henry and I did some research and sketching yesterday, and after pondering a variety of fun ideas, he’s settled on something truly original for next year’s entry. Henry really has his heart set on a self-driving unit rather than a trailer. Rather than build something from scratch, we decided to recycle a golf cart chassis we had converted to an award-winning 1940’s car/dinosaur parade float a few years ago. I hauled it from the boneyard and, in a little over an hour, had cut up and removed the body. With the chassis now fully exposed, we can get to designing a new custom structure. There’s a little more cutting required, and then the fabricating and welding can begin in earnest. I also visited Princess Auto today to peruse the wide variety of hydraulic equipment and parts they offer. The first few critical pieces are now in hand. Next year’s entry is going to be EPIC! Stay tuned…
Success!
It has been a whole year of planning and building this year’s entry for the Yarrow Days parade. This morning, Henry was super excited to get the show on the road at long last. We arrived plenty early, and Henry eagerly watched for the judges. He was rewarded with a first-place medallion in the commercial division. At 10:00 sharp, we heard the fire station’s siren, and Henry climbed into the cockpit, and I fired up the smoke system and set our entry in motion. We were situated in the center of the parade. The road was lined with thousands of spectators as everyone, local and from many communities around us, had turned out to watch the small town parade. We were cheered on as we ambled down the parade route on Yarrow Central Road. Lots of people shouted encouragement to Henry, proudly sitting in the little jet. They could see us coming from blocks away as the smoke was substantial- as we had planned. Things went perfectly, and we had a great time. True to form, it wasn’t long after we got home that Henry was eager to begin planning next year’s entry. The design is now in the bag. You can count on it being much bigger, much more complex and definitely more exciting than ever. There are only twelve months until next year’s entry needs to be ready, and Henry is already anxious to get building. Stay tuned…
Busy week
Some of our crew have been a little distracted as we do the final tasks for the Hazelnut Inn open house and the Yarrow Days parade, but some work continued in the shop. Today, the crew managed to paint some previously sculpted features and also sculpted the bulk of the Tater Twisters sign. Overall it was a very productive week.
