Life: Idiotropic

Every year on the Sunday before the Crazy Days of Carnival, Sittard has their children's parade - a wonderful parade of music, costumes, humor, and crazy makeup. It's fun. The onlookers dress up almost as much as the parade participants and though there isn't much candy thrown, it's still one of my favorite parades. So, today we got there early hoping for a good parking spot. The lot was so empty that I thought for a moment that I had the wrong day. The crowds came, but slowly. So we walked around the market for a bit, had cocoa at De Buren, then bagels at Bagels and Beans, then found some friends, a spot to stand near the cotton candy so the girls could watch them make it while we waited, and then we watched the entire wonderful parade in the cold with a light sprinkling of snow.

Lots of photos are posted here. Take a look. It's pretty amazing what they can do with costumes and makeup. And though I can't read all the Dutch to catch the jokes, the sense of humor among these people is obvious. I'll miss it here.

This little witch had the bluest eyes. She was in the parade with her mommy witch. Many toddlers were pulled along in their wagons or prams completely dressed up, and many completely oblivious to the party around them... or better yet, sleeping.

Many a critter, clown, and warrior watched the parade from their daddy's shoulders. And they all looked just as oblivious and just as cold. My middle ones loved it, got into it, and oohed and aahed at the costumes. Elise wavered between enthusiasm and frost - looking like these little ones half the time. Cold and tired.

And the last photo here... an odd one. These ladies in green had the most dull costumes of the entire parade, but what made them interesting is that as soon as they showed up, a man in the audience showed up with a tray held high above the crowd covered in beer - at least 10 tall glasses. It's a wonder that none of it spilled as they were handing it over the heads of little ones. But there they were, a sea of green ladies with hands full of glasses pausing to organize their brew before moving on.

More photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=92673&id=674507268&l=a6184