BY DIVYA SUBRAHMANYAM Palisadian-Post Intern Somewhere in the snaking line of floats that made up the Palisades Americanism Parade, there was an aqua blue truck, decorated with paper animals, palm trees and a sun, trailed by a group of children dressed in blue. This unique float was called “Palisades Kids Protect the Earth,” built by a small group of local families with no affiliation to a particular organization. Having watched the Palisades Fourth of July parade from the sidelines for years, residents Melissa Standish and Kelly Williams decided this year that they wanted to make their own float and involve other families and young children. They invited friends, neighbors, and families from Palisades Elementary and Palisades Presbyterian Nursery School, to the Williams’ house on Saturday, June 3, to begin creating the float. “I noticed that there were more official floats, but not a whole lot of families,” Standish explained at that first meeting. “Even as ragtag as we’re going to be’I enjoy having the kids here, although the logistics on parade day may be harder.” Fortunately, everything went smoothly on the day of the parade. The parents spent Monday assembling the elements, then on Tuesday, they took the float to the line-up, and families began arriving and setting up at about 1:30 p.m. During the parade, Standish was surprised to note the quick pace of the parade from a participant’s point of view. “When I’ve watched the parade in the past, it seems like they stop all the time. But when you’re actually in it, it feels like you’re running to keep up!” she laughed. It was, however, a fulfilling and positive experience for Standish, the realization of a dream to both be in the parade and build a community network. “It was so great just seeing everyone sitting on the side, looking so happy,” she said later. The theme of their float was the environment, with paper animals–painted and decorated by the children–attached by wire or string to a PVC frame erected on a flatbed truck. Some children rode on the truck, and the smallest were pulled in wagons by their parents. The rest followed behind the truck, on scooters, bikes, and on foot. The ones who walked were carrying poles topped with paper animals and wooden boards emblazoned with messages like “Conserve,” “Protect,” and “Recycle.” One young girl even suggested they write “Feed the elephants,” but this was not used. Standish’s vision also included a tissue-paper rainbow and an environmental banner. “I think of the rainbow as a sort of unifying symbol of the Earth,” she said. Unity in general, along with care for the environment, seemed to be the goal of the entire effort. “Everyone [working on the float] has become friends with one another,” Williams said. “They can go to the park and see new acquaintances, and play or talk. [This network] is what being in the Palisades is all about.” The young marchers, aged 2 to 9, wore matching blue T-shirts and sang the Woody Guthrie classic “This Land is Your Land,” which Standish described as a patriotic tune that encourages “an understanding that’we are all stewards of this land.” After the parade, some families attended the awards ceremony, where this float won the honor of “Best Youth Float.” The children were awed and proud as they passed the trophy around reverently, saying “Can I touch it?” At their first meeting, the families gathered at Williams’ house to eat pizza and paint paper animals. Previously, a few of the parents had met and constructed the blank figures. Williams drew pictures of butterflies, birds, sea creatures and other animals, while others cut them out, stuffed them with paper, and stapled the edges shut. They hung the figures from the railing of the wooden porch and placed throughout the backyard. The children set to work decorating the animals with washable tempera paint. Unrestrained by the confines of adult art, they mixed colors, painting designs on both the paper and themselves. Some used shimmer paint, others used glitter, and still others used solid colors. “This [float] is the culmination of a lot of people’s hard work: PAPA, the Santa Monica Conservancy, parents, others who help keep open spaces open,” Standish said. “That’s why we’re here today.” But she also believes that the larger aim of the project was to educate the participating children on preservation of nature. “They’re not old enough to articulate conservation yet,” she said. “So we build in layers, introducing the idea of the environment early and repeating it again and again. This is one small piece of teaching our children to be aware of everything around them. By building this float, we are beginning to give them a consciousness of the world and of their community.”
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