Parade Debut :-)

Well after 5 months of waiting for performing in parades and shows, I performed in my first parade last Saturday July 2nd! I was so excited the entire week, but I'd have to say I was a little bit more nervous than I was excited. I had never stepped foot on the parade route before, because we practiced the parade in training dancing around the parade building outside. I was also nervous because the 4 of us fairies begin the entire parade! So we are the "pacers" (whatever that means... hah) and there is nothing in front of us to follow or lead the way.

When I had to clock in to begin work, I went to cosmotology for the first time (eeee :-D ) and was given a bag of makeup for the fairies to use for each parade, FOR ME TO KEEP! The cosmotologists showed us how to apply our obnoxiously bright colored makeup and handed me my blue wig. After my makeup and wig were on I had to be checked by a cosmotologist before I could leave to head over to the parade building. 

I got into costume with the other fairies and it felt so real. The other 100+ people in the parade had done the show for weeks or months before and I definitely felt like "the new girl". I was rather lost at where to go and what to do, but people were definitely friendly and willing to help me out. 

It's 8:55pm and the parade is about to start in 5 minutes. We go to the "chute" at 5 minutes til, and wait there until the gates open and the parade begins. Because I was so nervous, and so excited and it was my first parade ever, I gave it all I got! 5 minutes into the 30 minute parade, we reached mainstreet and I was huffing and puffing. We're all tired and sweaty, but I honestly felt like I was going to throw up at least 4 times during the parade route. We're told to tell a captain and they'll take us off route, but I definitely didn't want to be that new girl that didn't make it through her first parade so I stuck it out and finished it off. In between the first and second parade I spoke to a staging specialist about how I was so surprised to be that tired and how I was giving 110% of my energy to this parade in which she responds, "oh hunny, no no no, you give 60% or you wont make it through 1 parade." ... oops. 

I changed my energy a little bit for the second parade and it was 1,000% better!! This one was actually such an incredible feeling to be performing for thousands of people taking pictures and filming me. It's strange to know that I'll be in people's home videos for years to come! It was also an incredible feeling dancing down mainstreet with nothing in our way. I've never walked on mainstreet before with no crowds and it was thrilling to be able to begin the parade and have an empty street waiting for us to dance down it. It ended up being an incredible night and I'm so happy to officially be a part of shows and parades!