Hometown Parade Float Ideas
Hometown parades bring communities together. People plan vacations around parades and look forward to watching from a prime spot, year after year. But the real action takes place months before the parade begins. After the theme of the parade is determined, parade participants must think of and implement hometown parade float ideas. Taking the theme, season and budget into consideration, you can make your hometown parade float a crowd favorite.
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Hometown Pride
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Show your hometown pride by using local teams’ colors, mascots or fight songs, if appropriate. Another way to share your town spirit is by mimicking local attractions, such as a famous statue or natural feature, in your float’s decoration. Capture the theme of the parade by finding a song that reflects it, and play it loud so spectators can hear it. You can carry the theme out in costumes, too: Look for dance clothes or character costumes that will work with both your hometown message and the overall parade them.
Advertise Your Business
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Cover your float with the colors of your logo, and use streamers, banners and a mascot if you have one. Prominently display your logo and motto on each side and the back of the float so it is easily read and stands out. Use music, either your own jingle or another appropriate tune, to draw attention to your float. Pass out inexpensive items labeled with your logo such as water bottles, pencils, golf towels, paper pads or rulers. Use the parade as a marketing tool.
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Follow a Theme
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Take a parade theme to the extreme. If your town is celebrating a centennial year, dress in period costumes and create a period scene on your float. Do some research to find out more about the founding of your town: If it was a railroad community, decorate your float like an old locomotive. If the theme is an aquatennial, a celebration of the lakes, rivers or ocean near your town, create the shell of a ship around the base of the float. Driving a decorated tractor and flatbed down Main Street is a great way to celebrate rural communities, but you can bring it up a notch by using real antique equipment or trained horses and carts.
Floats on a Budget
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Stay within your budget. If you have less than $500.00, you’ll need to be resourceful, but that does not mean your float will not stand out. Use your own high-test vehicle to pull a borrowed or rented flat-bed trailer. Consider using a convertible car you can decorate and ride in with the top down.
For inexpensive decorations, use a lot of balloons, colorful streamers and plastic wraps. Cheap plastic or vinyl tablecloths cover lots of space and can be cut into streamers that will not lose their color if they get wet. Use cardboard boxes spray painted and cut into any shape. And don’t forget about the ever-versatile hay bale: These can be used for seating, building up other props, creating barriers and just about anything else you need solid, stable, heavy items for.
If your parade is in the evening, use outdoor holiday lights to illuminate your float, and use lots of light-reflecting material, such as aluminum foil, to really stand out in the lineup.
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