Parade season

When you think of 'parade season' most people think of summertime. Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day frequently have parades. But here in 'lower, slower Delaware', early December is also 'parade season'.

Residents of these small towns and rural outskirts love a Christmas parade!

In fact, practically every town in these parts has its own Christmas parade. Fortunately they coordinate them so no two parades are on the same day.

Of course, every vintage car owner (myself included) looks for opportunities like parades to share their beauty with the masses, so I will be driving Big Ella in 3 local parades this year:

• Milton - Wednesday, Dec 1 at 7:30
• Lewes - Saturday, Dec 3 at 5:00
• Rehoboth Beach - Monday, Dec 6 at 6:00

Each parade has its own set of 'rules'. One says 'no Santa costumes' because the official parade Santa will appear at the end of the parade, and they don't want children to be confused by seeing more than 1 Santa! Another says 'no throwing anything' meaning candy, bubble gum, mardi gras beads, etc. I guess they don't want to have to send the street sweeper around after the parade. Yet another says 'Floats and vehicles MUST be decorated'. Who knew there were such politics in Christmas parades?

My friend Steven has agreed to ride with me in all 3 parades since Spouse doesn't like to 'be the center of attention'. (I told Spouse "You're not the center of attention - Big Ella is" but he still won't ride with me in a parade.)

Since the point of driving Big Ella in the parade is to share her beauty, I've decided to keep her decorations simple. I have an artificial wreath with battery operated lights that also plays 8 different Christmas carols which I'll attach to Big Ella's front grill. I have another decorated artificial wreath to attach to her rear bumper, and a velvet bow for each of the front doors. Steven & I will both wear Santa hats. That's it; just enough decoration to qualify as 'decorated', but not so much that it distracts from Big Ella's beautiful lines.

Look for photos after the parades.