How to Build a Parade Dragon
Parade dragons are most famous for dancing at festivals that celebrate the Chinese New Year. The dragon is symbolic of achievement and power, and therefore appropriate to welcome in a new year. Smaller hand puppets can be made from socks but larger parade dragons are constructed from cardboard boxes. The box is worn by a person, who then can move about to music and form part of the parade. Recycle wrapping paper and boxes to create your parade dragon costume.
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Things You'll Need
- Large cardboard boxes
- Colorful fabric, 2 feet by 7 feet
- Red paper
- Glue gun
- Paint
- White foam
- Tennis ball cut in half
- Strips of colored material, measuring 2 inches wide by 3 feet long
Instructions
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1
Paint a large cardboard box with paint. Green or red are common colors with which to decorate the dragon; choose a color that matches the color of the fabric.
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2
Cut out two large oval shapes of cardboard from another cardboard box: this is the front nose of the dragon, so make sure it is in proportion with the box. It should be about two thirds the width of the box. Paint it the same color as the box.
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3
Use your scissors to cut out small pyramid shapes from the foam. These are the dragon's teeth. Glue a line of these around the edge of both ovals that form the nose.
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4
Glue the nose of the dragon onto the front of the cardboard. Place them together with the foam teeth facing each other. Then, place the sheet of red paper between the two oval shapes to create the tongue.
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5
Attach the length of material to the back of the cardboard box. This is the tail of the dragon. Again, use the glue gun to secure it into place.
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Stick each half of the tennis ball onto the front of the cardboard head to make the eyes of the dragon. You can leave them yellow, or paint them bright blue to stand out.
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Secure the strips of material along the length of the dragon's tail. Glue a variety of colors and in a random order to make the dragon bright and attractive.
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Wear the dragon. Hold the box above your head and get friends to stand behind you. Ask your friends to lift up the fabric above their heads, too. Now walk in a line and dance without extending the gap between you. This forms the parade dragon costume.
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References
- Photo Credit Digital Vision./Photodisc/Getty Images
