Friends March in Fiesta Days Parade

Happy Crowd Cheers Volunteers and Float

Saturday, April 15th was a beautiful day that started early. Friends volunteers began gathering at 7:30 a.m. in Carefree to march in the annual parade into Cave Creek.  We stepped off promptly at 9 a.m. for the "march" past the Sundial at Hum Road, down Cave Creek Road to Spur Cross Road. The scenery is exceptional but with many  horse units parading in front of us, "Keep Your Eyes on the Road" was the order of the day.

"The World's Connecting and We're Collecting"

Lead marchers for our unit were Hanna Nelssen and Jane Rau followed by Marg Nelssen and Kathy Cambal. The theme of this year's parade was "It's a Small World," and we chose "The World's Connecting and We're Collecting" as the title for our float. Volunteers carried litter bags and sticks and banners identified this Web site which is visited by hundreds of folks from around the world every day. 

Float Features "Fiesta Freddy" 

Our crack float development team of engineers, artists and one hanger-on featured a dummy child, Fiesta Freddy, using a vintage computer to access the outside world from his toy-filled room.  In addition to Freddy, the float  showcased the plant    identification signs that we maintain along the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive. 

 Cookout Publicized

As we marched we promoted the upcoming Cookout at the Ranch V with a banner carried by Howard Myers. Other volunteers   distributed information describing the Cookout and the Scenic Drive. 

Wait Until Next Year!

Our crack engineering team is mystified. For the second straight year we failed to win a prize or receive an invitation to the Rose Bowl Parade. Oh well, we have almost a year to rest and think before we begin work on our 2001 float. The world may indeed be getting smaller but the idea of the Fiesta Days Parade remains the same ... have fun and enjoy the day. The folks in the picture did!