Tag Archives: parade

Salmon Days

Text: Salmon Days is a local festival about the return of the salmon to Issaquah creek. It is the first full weekend in October because that is when it’s most likely for the salmon to be fully back.

The festival started around 60 years ago, starting either before my father was born or when he was a small child. It used to be small, though still had face painting, booths, crafts, etc. my dad says that craft fairs were big back then, every town has its own little craft fair. By the time my father was in high school he can remember there was a year when 20,000 people came, in comparison the population of Issaquah back then was about 8,000. “It was one of those times where you’re just like, Maybe this isn’t such a little festival anymore”. There also were very few towns around that were doing a festival of that scale. Now it’s “freaking huge”. 

At the Festival:

  • They remember there was little crafts you could either do or buy. When my mom was a kid there was a trend where they gave you a “weird” shaped bottle, then you filled it with styrofoam balls (my dad who is older remembers it used to be sand). Then you’d put a hat and hair on it.
  • Elephant ears; which are according to my mom a “big slab of buttery deep fried gluten with cinnamon and sugar” — They have been “Epic forever”. “Anybody you ask about Salmon days is probably gonna talk about elephants ears.
  • The Parade: Saturday Morning is the parade. It used to be little and go down Front Street (the town’s main street). It would have little floats and Miss Issaquah riding down the Salmon float, a couple of marching bands. Then by the time my dad was in high school or just out of high school it became so big they had to move it to a different street. There was one year where the parade was three hours long. My parents talked about how in the pre internet world it was The thing to do, The place to be.

They remember that when they were in school it was a great way to be social and connect up with your friends on the weekends. My dad, who didn’t have many friends, remembers it being a weird social experiment. 

Dad (cleaned up): You weren’t in school, so suddenly people would–you’d be walking along and people would be like, “Hey D”, you know, “Hey, how are you doing?” It’s like, “Hey, you want to go walk around with me?” You know, even though you barely knew this person. So, it was definitely a weird, like, social experiment. (laughs) So I remember walking around with people that I’d never even like talked to before. 

Interviewer: And you wouldn’t again? 

Dad: Uh, you know, maybe we’d say hi again on Monday, you know, at school, but then you’d drift back apart, you know, it’s like.

Mom: Please remember the source of this. 

Dad: Yeah, I mean, me. Hello? 

Mom: He just doesn’t maintain that sort of thing very well, so they may or may not have tried it’s unclear.

Context: I interviewed my parents, my mother who is 49, white, and moved to Washington from Idaho when she was at the age of 9 and my father who is 60, white, has lived in this town his entire life. Both my parents are introverts, but my mother had friends during high school while my dad was a bit more of a loner due his shyness and obliviousness.

Analysis: This festival is a tradition that is long standing and has evolved as the town grew, becoming a part of the way of life of living in Issaquah Washington. Salmon are a big part of living in Issaquah, with the salmon hatchery and the return of the salmon, but I think that’s really just a jumping off point for this festival for community and evolving traditions are also a big part. Both my parents remember community in high school being a huge thing that the Salmon days brought, for my dad it created a frame that allowed him to connect to his peers in a way he wasn’t able to otherwise. The Salmon return and the people gather in a ways that normally don’t, allowing for a different experience than everyday life. It’s also been going for so long that people have established their own traditions within the festival, like getting elephant ears. It started out small but took on a life of itself. It also makes me wonder if this celebration in part kept the Salmon hatchery alive, though that is speculation as I have no idea the financial situation of the hatchery nor have I heard anything.

New York Ticker Tape Parade

Nationality: Irish

Occupation: Financial Engineering

Residence: New York, NY

Text: 

“After the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2008, they did the traditional victory parade through New York. The parade goes along a narrow section of Broadway in lower Manhattan called the ‘Canyon of Heroes’, where all of the employees of the banks watch the parade from their office windows. When I worked at BGC my office was along this section of Broadway, and that morning someone had left out boxes full of thin strips of paper. As the parade went by everyone threw the paper out of the window like it was confetti. Workers used to throw ticker tape, hence the name, but ticker tape was obsolete by 2008 so we just used paper.”

Context:

New York City has been doing ticker tape parades since long before my father moved to America in the early 90s. Historically the parades were done to honor anyone considered worthy, including returning soldiers, astronauts, and politicians. However in the time my dad has lived in New York, they have only been done for championship winning sports teams, and he only worked in an office on Broadway for one of them. Historically, these parades featured employees at financial firms throwing ticker tape; ticker tape is a thin strip of paper which was used to receive live stock market updates through telegraphs. The employees would throw the tape out of the window in celebration, and it would fall down like confetti. After the internet rendered ticker tape obsolete, employees began throwing slits of paper out of the window instead.

Analysis:

Both the use of ticker tape (and the paper that replaced it) and the parade going down the “Canyon of Heroes” are ways that New York differentiates itself from other cities when conducting championship parades. First, there is the deliberate choice to use paper that replicates ticker tape instead of using normal confetti (like any other city would). Ticker tape symbolizes Wall Street and the stock market, which are major parts of the fabric of New York City. Additionally, the parade route going through the financial district to have employees watch from windows is very different from other parades. Most parades go through areas with areas for spectators, but in New York the parade is meant to be watched from an office window. This is a reflection of the work culture of New York, especially in the financial industry. At businesses where employees often work 60+ hours a week, nobody would have time to leave the office to watch a parade, so instead the parade follows a route allowing it to be watched from the office. Ticker tape parades turn generic championship parades into unique celebrations that reflect New York City.

Mount Holyoke Laurel Parade

Age: 22

Text: My sister told me about a graduation tradition at her school Mount Holyoke called the Laurel Parade. She said it “symbolizes when a student moves into an alum. Participants wear white in solidarity with the suffragists and seniors parade with a laurel chain and drape it on the iron fence around the grave while we sing ‘bread and roses’ (poem turned song) about protests on equal pay at a textile mill in Massachusetts.” 

Context: She is heavily looking forward to the Laurel Parade because it is a momentous occasion and she’s looking forward to the singing part. When my sister said she’s excited for it, my mom mentioned that everyone in the parent groups say it is the highlight of graduation. My sister says it’s very cult-like but also very cute. She’s been very bittersweet about graduating and can’t wait to sing songs and be in a cult.

Analysis: This is an important ritual for Mount Holyoke grads, and helps to foster a collective identity among members. The wearing of white is a long standing connection to suffragists and ties the graduation to a greater meaning, as these new women graduate from college and go off to the real world. These traditions are important as they mark a rite of passage and this one creates a sense of closure as they all work together to create the atmosphere through singing and outfits. It is a milestone that helps process the “bittersweet” feelings of leaving an institution you’ve been with for four years.

Vacaville Fiesta Days

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Context: The Fiesta Days parade was so fun as a kid. It was this stretch of about four days in Vacaville, CA, where I grew up, that the whole town would get involved with this cool parade that had floats and marching bands. Afterward, there would be a carnival, kids’ events, live music, and great food. It always took place in late May, so the weather was usually great. One of the reasons it’s such a huge memory for me is because I was part of the parade in my school’s marching band. I marched and played my trumpet in that parade about four years in a row, and it was so fun. We had these cool costumes on that made you feel like you were going to pass out by the end of it with how hot you were. And we would play some silly marching band songs all the way through the parade route. I played the trumpet, so my lips were so tired by the end. Our band always won for our age group in the parade awards. But what was really fun is that after we were all done, we got to partake in the festivities—riding rides in the carnival and going to the local band concerts. Looking back, it was a great way for the community to come together in a fun, memorable way.

Analysis: One thing that stands out to me about this festival is how strongly it’s tied to youth participation. It’s not just something for kids to watch, it’s something they can actively participate in and make special. Getting kids involved as active members in this way ensures that when they grow up, they’ll want to continue to be active members. These traditions help build a sense of belonging in a community. Everyone has a role to play, even if it’s just to enjoy the parade and eat funnel cake. These kinds of yearly events that bring the local area together in this time of changing seasons have the effect of marking time, you know when the weather starts to get nice and warm it’s time for the Fiesta Days. These are the types of events that make people feel good about where they come from. No matter where the children that participate live when they grow up, they’ll continue to hold the joy and pride that this made them feel about their hometown.

Fourth of July: Holiday

Text: 

Me: “Do you have any festivals and or holidays that you participate in?”

NO: “I can talk about the Fourth of July. Fourth of July is a commercialized holiday within American culture that is usually practiced to celebrate the birthday of America. Although each family and household celebrates differently, my family usually goes to a parade, located in my city’s downtown, where we watch fireworks, eat typical traditional American foods (hot dogs, hamburgers, potato chips, and beer), and pop our own fireworks.”

Me: “Do you think Fourth of July involves any type of rituals?”

NO: “um, I don’t know, I mean the only thing I can think of is the idea that within the days and weeks leading up to Fourth of July, it is normal to hear fireworks popping during the night. It’s a way to show one’s excitement for the huge upcoming holiday as many Americans take it very seriously depending on how patriotic they are. My grandpa also usually hangs up the American flag before the start of our family get together and we typically say the Pledge of Allegiance before we begin eating and celebrating; it’s a way to show respect and to salute our country.” 

Context (informant’s relationship to the piece, where they heard it, how they interpret it):

-NO’s relationship within the Fourth of July stems from her Mexican-American culture. Considering that NO is both Mexican and American, her relationship within this holiday stems from her own patriotic beliefs and the appreciation that she emits despite being only half American. NO has heard about this holiday all her life as she has always been exposed to the commercialized store displays, the American culture excitement, and the various parties that she would always go to as a child and as a young adult. NO interprets this holiday as a reminder of the other half of herself. Given that she was born in America, although she has Mexican parents, she values the fact that she is living within a country that can grant her so much in terms of education, stability, and comfort. NO sees this holiday as a representation of who she is and how connected a community can be. 

Analysis(what kind of personal, cultural, or historical values might be expressed) YOUR interpretation:

-The cultural values that are embedded with the Fourth of July are the stereotypical lifestyle values that indicate American culture; this can be seen within typical stereotypical American food (hotdogs, hamburgers, potato chips, and beer) and the patriotic involvement within firework shows, picnics, and commercialized window displays within retail stores. The personal values that are expressed within this holiday is the amount of patriotism that one individual chooses to express. This can be seen within the patriotic clothing that people choose to wear as American culture is evident of wearing anything blue, red, or white, as they dress up for the occasion. This can be seen as one’s overall value of commitment considering one can make the decision to choose to dress up and portray themselves in Fourth of July’s “costume” or not. I interpret this holiday as a community building celebration where unity can be found. I see this holiday as a way to come together as a society and enjoy the moment where people are on the same page. Given the fact that I do celebrate this holiday, I believe that dressing up in red, white, and blue showcases festivity, patriotism, and a way to join together in unity and harmony as a way to celebrate what we all have in common. Within this holiday, the concept of a gloss coating washing over festivals, traditions, and holidays, introduced by Gregory the First, a European Pope, can be seen given the fact that this holiday is celebrated by many citizens of America despite the fact that not everyone in the country is as involved, up to date, and knowledgeable about American politics or news; this signifies that a gloss coating is placed upon Fourth of July as a way to commercialize the holiday and make it seem that it’s solely about hamburgers, beer, and fireworks as opposed to the birthday of America. A holiday that is similar to Fourth of July is Cinco de Mayo (May 5), a traditional Mexican holiday that is celebrated to give remembrance of the Mexican victory over the French Empire. Usually, in American society you can see various individuals using the 5th of May as an excuse to drink and party; this stems from the commercialized notion behind the holiday, much similar to how Fourth of July is viewed as.