Our Peace Train returns to Christmas parade

[Roberta]

Nov 1, 2011 0:00:25 GMT -8 Brian said:

Jim with the front panel of the Peace Train last Christmas.

Such a great picture! Much has transpired in our garage with the renovation work this year. I've moved the train panels back and forth, in and out, here and there. They are still in gloriously pristine shape, I'm happy to report.

I'm contacting our non-regulars and others who paraded with us last year, to get them on board Dec. 3rd, 2011. Please help spread the word and remind me of blanks in my name file.

We will be listed as Glendale/Montrose Peace Vigils this year, with the money due Nov. 15. At the corner and anywhere else I will gleefully gather tax-deductible donations of any size (checks to Montrose Christmas Parade Association).

Things to think about: our music strategy this year? what soups are you hankering for before the parade? other stuff to have organized before the 3rd? everything else I'm forgetting?

toot-toot, chug-chug, off we go!

[Brian]

Thank you, Roberta, for starting this thread to plan and celebrate our second annual march with the Peace Train in the Montrose Christmas Parade. Here's the link to the parade's official webpage:

www.montrosechristmasparade.com/2011Event.htm

To address Roberta's query about people to invite, I checked my list of the 23 who participated last year. Besides the stalwarts from Montrose Peace Vigil, Glendale Peace Vigil and Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church, we were joined by Joyce, who had also marched with us in Hollywood; Michael Crosby, daughter Jen and her friend; Mary and Carly from Jeanne's ceramics class; CVUMC (and message board) member Susan and her husband John and long time intermittent vigiler Sigrid. Roberta mentioned in an e-mail to me tonight that Mark, who was key in building the Peace Train, told her he'll be back this year.

No doubt I'll have a lot more to say here later -- and I hope others post as well.

[anni]

Here's a couple of pictures from the actual parade, last year...Yeah and woo hoo the parade!

[Roberta]

Nov 17, 2011 9:32:27 GMT -8 anni said:

Here's a couple of pictures from the actual parade, last year...Yeah and woo hoo the parade!

Jeanne thinks adding alternate straps, ones long enough to hook onto our shoulders, would make carrying the panels more comfortable. I'll get more of the canvas webbing. We've also been discussing the music. We are leaning toward foregoing recorded music because we don't know of a way to broadcast it loud enough to be heard above the bands, not to mention the crowd. Human voices anyone? Let's discuss at the corner and here.

Anyone up for a work session (by which I mean party) on, say the Sat. or Sunday afternoon after Thanksgiving, here at my garage?

[anni]

Nov 21, 2011 12:15:02 GMT -8 Roberta said:

Jeanne thinks adding alternate straps, ones long enough to hook onto our shoulders, would make carrying the panels more comfortable. I'll get more of the canvas webbing. We've also been discussing the music. We are leaning toward foregoing recorded music because we don't know of a way to broadcast it loud enough to be heard above the bands, not to mention the crowd. Human voices anyone? Let's discuss at the corner and here.
Anyone up for a work session (by which I mean party) on, say the Sat. or Sunday afternoon after Thanksgiving, here at my garage?

Yep, I agree, the music added nothing. Maybe a bit more stress?

The shoulder straps are a great idea, too! I'm thinking they wouldn't take too long so if we had to we could put it off until the night of, but I'm also thinking it might be a great photo opp? My skills are much showy-err in the day light...and if we just happened to be wearing our MPV long sleeves...the photos might just be great...I'm planning on the camera the night of the parade, too.

[Jeanne]

I will bring my Cat Stevens song book to the corner. It's hard. The structure is more complex than it sounds. Maybe we could do a shortened version. Abridge. As long as we don't A Bridge Too Far. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[Brian]

I agree with Roberta and Anni that we shouldn't attempt recorded music again. After last year's experience, I realized that any amplified system loud enough to be heard above the sound that the thousands of spectators, other marchers and the bands generate would also be obnoxious and, well, not peaceful.

Nov 23, 2011 14:06:07 GMT -8 Jeanne said:

I will bring my Cat Stevens song book to the corner. It's hard. The structure is more complex than it sounds. Maybe we could do a shortened version.

I'd love to try that to hear how that works. "Peace Train" is rhythmically complex. Another idea: Perhaps we could sing or shout out lines from the song periodically, like "Oh peace train sounding louder" or "Everyone jump upon the peace train," reciting them as a call and response, like the Occupy movement's human mic.

Train whistles were essential, I believe. Bruce won't be on board this year, so I'll have to buy some.

Anni sees our old friend Marian all the time, so I asked her to tell Marian about the Christmas parade and what a gas it was last year -- and it looks like she may join us.

[Roberta]

I will bring multiple copies of the Peace Train, the lyrics that is. I agree that it is a hard song for amateurs to do really well, but I also think it is a song that we can't totally ruin. We will bring its true spirit, along with the familiar words and melody, and that will be what people will hear, not whether every note is perfect.

Today's Crescenta Valley Weekly has the first PR I've seen for the parade that included the full sponsor list. And there we are: Glendale/Montrose Peace Vigils!!!!!

The online version doesn't include the ads. (So much for future readers/scholars who will be looking for that important primary source material of social history!) I will bring the paper ed. to the corner tomorrow.

I have a couple of whistles (backups last year), plus I think Bruce is going to loan his cause he wants us to have the best.

[Brian]

The shopping park association updated its parade webpage on Monday -- Glendale/Montrose Peace Vigils are displayed among the Silver Supporters and, further down, alphabetically in the long list of participants:

www.montrosechristmasparade.com/2011Event.htm

Last year, we were told we could submit an announcement that might be read when the Peace Train passes the cameras recording the parade for cable and the Internet. It wasn't. We don't give up, so when Roberta asked me to revise our copy, I offered this, subject to any revisions she or anyone else wants to make:

Imagine there's a Peace Train rolling through our town. That's what members of the Montrose Peace Vigil and the Glendale Peace Vigil did. Then they built and hand-painted their Peace Train as a special holiday greeting for the Christmas Parade. Montrose Peace Vigil is celebrating six years of peaceful weekly vigils here and Glendale Peace Vigil nine years in downtown Glendale. Let's all get on board with the message of Christmas, year-round: Peace on earth and goodwill to all!

[anni]

Nov 29, 2011 0:00:58 GMT -8 Brian said:

Imagine there's a Peace Train rolling through our town. That's what members of the Montrose Peace Vigil and the Glendale Peace Vigil did. Then they built and hand-painted their Peace Train as a special holiday greeting for the Christmas Parade. Montrose Peace Vigil is celebrating six years of peaceful weekly vigils here and Glendale Peace Vigil nine years in downtown Glendale. Let's all get on board with the message of Christmas, year-round: Peace on earth and goodwill to all!

It's less windy now than earlier this morning and I'm doing a special un-winding the wind dance. Hopefully, by parade launch time we will have only a little breeze and our Peace Train won't be "blowing" through Montrose. Just a gentle "roll" giving spectators a chance
to contemplate:
"All Aboard the Peace Train!"