Drool on the Frog

Monday, April 10, 2006

Help With Parade

We need some suggestions for transporting the dogs & cats in the parade on April 29.

This is a question that My Geek and I had been bantering around for a couple of weeks. It was obvious the wheels on the platform are not made to roll on the street. Anyone who rides bikes knows that a flat road in good condition can still be a rough ride. And for wheels that are not made for street use, it could be damaging.

My idea was small, flatbed trailers pulled by a car or truck or even a lawnmower or 3-wheeler. But the parade route is really short, about 3 blocks, and having that many vehicles with trailers would cause a major jam. I believe what Art Unleashed has in mind is still something that can be pulled manually.

Another suggestion was something like the flatbed lumber carts you can use at the home improvement stores. A good idea but how are we going to get 40+ of these!?

So we need your help, suggestions, and ideas.

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4 Comments:

  • Hi. Actually, I'm WITH the parade, and I'm wondering if we can get some flatbeds big enough to fit maybe 12 forms on each... low enough to be seen well, like a hay trailer. If anyone has one, we could use it!!!
    We'll figure this out, but we need ideas, as we're professional animal lovers and caretakers, not parade putters-on.
    Thanks.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:01 PM  

  • Been praying for you this week! Glad to hear you got SAM finished. The parade and auction will be nice closure to your artistic excursion.

    About parading the forms: We have a Radio Flyer wagon with all-terrain wheels on it and it's a pretty smooth ride. They're much bigger than the standard wagon tire, and filled with air. Could you strap the platforms onto the wagon sides (ours has two wooden slats with a 1/2" gap between them) and pull it along behind someone?

    By Blogger Erin, at 8:46 PM  

  • One possible solution I thought of is to transport the dogs along the parade route on a flat bed trailer similar to something commonly seen in parades (featuring the local girl scouts, parade queen, local small town celebrities, ect.). The trailer could be pulled by a truck. In my small town of Port Clinton, that’s all they seem to use some times in their parades. Perhaps, someone associated with the Humane Society or local area has a flat bad trailer they would be willing to let Art Unleashed use for the day. This would save on the cost of having to spend more money on materials also. An additional advantage to this method is that the forms would be raised up a little and perhaps easier for the parade viewers to see. This method would also bypass having to attach anything to the sculpture and bases so there won't be any risk of compromising the designs or the condition of the works.

    At the end of the parade I thought it would be cool if the forms could be placed like a car show format where the dogs/cats are displayed and the crowds can walk around and view each one.

    Whichever method is chosen, we need to keep in mind not to jeopardize any of the forms by choosing a method of transportation that could lead to damaging a form and upsetting a sponsor.

    By Blogger None, at 6:50 AM  

  • Okay, everybody...
    Candide with the FHS Parade here.
    We've talked to Cowpainters, who make the forms, and in 7 years, and dozens of parades, no form has been harmed at all. They're tougher than we thought!!
    They said there would be no problem whatsoever rolling them for four blocks... so that's what we're gonna do.
    We'll fiddle with twine and rope near the bottom (maybe on top of the wheels right below the bottom of the base) as other cities have done. HAVE NO FEAR... it'll be great.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:11 PM  

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