August 26, 2008 1:35 PM
Puppets!
At a certain point, it doesn't even matter what your politics are -- you just have to love an array of giant, colorful, disparate and often hand-crafted puppets.Civic Center Park was the place to be Tuesday morning for the Backbone Campaign's parade, titled "Procession for the Future." It depicted a panorama of progressive issues. And unlike a number of DNC events -- including those planned by the Democratic Party itself -- it ran smoothly, with a minimum of confusion and a minimum of tension.
It opened with Karen Jones of Seattle, dressed as Ben Franklin but sporting sneakers and carrying a walkie-talkie, leading a 1,000-square-foot depiction of the Preamble to the Constitution, signed by parade participants.
Most of the puppet makers were out of the Seattle area, including the parade's artistic director, Christopher Lutter. His giant polar bear had debuted in a march Sunday.
A few feet away, Los Angeles resident Ruben Israel was assaulting passersby with a PA system, saying "women should grow their hair long and submit." I took the hair part to heart, but might let the rest go.
"You snot-nosed ingrates," he shouted. "Go back to Berkeley!"
Um, Mr. Israel? You're from L.A.? It's not exactly the heartland?
A few feet away, no one could hear him. It was folk music and impromptu little dances, Code Pink women pedaling their bicycles, and volunteers trying to figure out how to wrangle their puppets.
Boise filmmaker Chris Sander was struggling with a massive puppet with the face of a cornucopia. Her name, Veggie Mama, represents organic farming. All Sander knew was that Veggie Mama was an uncooperative mama -- "a.k.a. the hardest puppet in the world to control," he said. "We could have our choice of any puppet and we picked this one."
Just as Veggie Mama started to pop upright, Noah Fogel, 4, got excited. "It's looking at us!" he cried. "It's looking at us!"
August 26, 2008
5:17 PM
BETH writes:
It was an awesome parade with a wonderful message for everyone to pay attention to. Backbone is a grassroots organization that prefers proactivity and a postive message. I especially liked the request for Universal Healthcare and Renewable Energy. Great Job!!!
December 20, 2009
10:07 AM
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