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Street parades
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S A F E T Y
The practical work involved in devising celebrations requires the occupational health and safety practices associated with the visual and performing arts. Always put safety first.

Street parades

Ideal:

Everybody loves a parade. Parades make meaning. The parade is a designed series of performed/performance images. The images are place and audience specific. The images speak of what we prize as a community of paraders and spectators. Parades provoke wonder, delight, surprise and recognition. They transform ordinary public space into the extraordinary.

Form:
A series of images loosely or specifically related to each other. The images are travelling, three-dimensional, light, mobile, articulated and imaginative.

Principles:

• The images should contrast with and counterpoint each other.
• Images should vary in size from the giant (3x human size) to the miniature (knee high).
• Use music to highlight and counterpoint each image.
• Fill the upper air with moving images: on floats with articulated giant puppets; with moving banners; backpack images, windsocks, balloons, streamers, bunting.
• Each image and music sequence can be repeated every 10-15 metres as the audience is a new one.
• The parade leader must always keep an eye on the tail of the parade and move so that the parade stays together.
• Keep images 3 metres apart. Bigger images may be even further apart.

Practices:

• Draw a cartoon strip of the parade and consider the juxtapositions of images and how they create dramatic/visual tensions.
• Rehearse if possible - explore the full range of sustainable movement for each image and between images.
• Place stiltwalkers to the sides of the parade so they do not slow the flow if they tire.
• It may be entirely on foot, partly on wheels, partly motorised or a combination of the three.
• Incorporate existing groups: bands, dancers, marching teams, etc.
• Negotiate the route of the parade with police and local council.
• Check width and height clearances for giant images, windsocks and banners.
• Identify marshalling and dispersal areas where the whole parade can be contained comfortably.
• Have a parade marshall and traffic controllers who can explain delays and length of interruptions to surprised motorists.
  

	You should space people as marshalls throughout the procession to help keep the parade moving in the right direction. Give them flags to wave so they are visible and appear part of the celebration. Marshalls should keep an eye out for hazards such as traffic, crowds and overhead wires.
	Bands will attract attention and create a rhythm for the parade. Uniforms, makeup and decorations can add an identity to a band. If you have more than one band or group of musicians in the parade, think about how you space them out in the procession for best effect.
	Safety is vital! It is important to be clearly visible to traffic. In this picture John Fox from Welfare State is letting a driver know that a parade is ahead and where it is going. Bright flags will be highly visible - red is good because to most people it signifies a hazard ahead.
	Even relatively simple constructions will add colour and movement to a parade. Think about how these floats will move and interact with each other and the audience. Heavier floats may require several teams to operate them along the parade route to prevent fatigue.
	Large banners can be carried and waved along as part of the parade.
Remember: Check with your local authorities before mounting a large street parade. Police, local councils and businesses will usually be sympathetic and helpful if you give them notice of your event. Make sure participants have hats and sunblock if necessary, and arrange for some cool drinks in a shady spot after the procession.