For those of you who can't make it out to the planning meeting at BIFF this week, you can still take part in the discussion through the discussion board at ROWLF.

(Yes, you'll have to join Ning.com to post a message, but I promise that it doesn't hurt.)

I haven't actually seen any Whovian costumes at VCON or other fannish parties, but I'm sure we'll be able to come up with a really impressive showing. (Actually, I have this recurring fantasy that somebody will be able to come up with a working Dalek, and trundle around with that in the parade. That would be ultimately cool.)

And I haven't forgotten that the VANguard (the local branch of the Urban Prankster Network) is hoping to build a replica TARDIS. Whether it will be ready in time for this parade, I don't know.

I posted this as an event. Definitely coming :D Hope others can make it to join us in the parade!

The North Shore Canada Day Parade is this Wednesday! I've been looking forward to this ever since last year's parade. I really want to make a big splash, to let people know that, "Hey, there are a whole bunch of fan groups in this town, and we're all about having fun, so why don't you check us out?" The more people who show up from each group, the more impressive the overall entry will be, the more likely it is that people will sit up, take notice, and possibly participate in one or more groups, so I do appreciate every single person who shows up. (Well, yeah, married people too. I'm not prejudiced.)

First, some important links:

The calendar entry on the ROWLF site.

The discussion page on the ROWLF site.

The parade route is shown here.

We will be mustering along West Grand Boulevard, near 13th Street. Look for a sign with the number 66. (Sixty-six.) That is our entry number.

Officially, the muster time is 8:00 am. (Not pm.) In reality, as long as you are in place and in costume before 9:00, I will be satisfied. Be prepared for the traffic to take a little longer than you might expect, because this event does draw crowds. There will be a pancake breakfast starting at 8:00, or possibly earlier. If you plan to partake, be sure to get there well before 9:00 (like before 8:30), because the line gets pretty long.

If you cannot think of a costume:

A number of people have offered various costumes and costume elements, in comments on the calendar entry, and in the discussion thread. Please contact the potential lenders directly if something appeals to you.

If you're looking to rent a costume or buy costume elements, there is a whole page of potential costume sources listed on the BCSFA site.

In addition, we need several people to wear some kind of fannish T-shirt (we have a number of T-shirts available to borrow), and walk along the edge of the crowd, passing out flyers promoting the various groups taking part. If you do this, please note that the parade rules say that:

• You must walk right along the curb at the edge of the road,
  
• You must hand (not toss or throw) the flyers to people, and
  
• You must not encourage or allow people to come off the curb and onto the street to get the flyers.
  

We will have a vehicle this year. The Stargate Meetup Group has put together a Stargate which is just rockin', so our entry is going to look amazingly amazing. And, the van will make a handy place to stash things like water bottles.

When we muster, we're going to sort out all the marchers by fandom, and have characters from each different fan universe walking together. (All the Star Trek in one row, Battlestar Galactica in one row, etc.)

When we move out, please space out evenly across the width of the road. Don't cluster together in the middle like you're afraid of the audience: chest out, gut in, and smile, people. Pretend you're having fun. Nobody's going to want to hang out with us if we look mopey or grumpy or nervous. Wave. Come up with some patter. Interact. Just... stick with the group, y'know?

I will be bringing some water, the parade will be providing water, I will be bringing sunscreen, and the parade route is astoundingly level, and occasionally shaded. There should be no excuse for anybody to burn, melt, or spontaneously combust. We also generally help one another with things like costume adjustments and makeup at the muster point. (I simply must do something about my hair.)

After the parade, we'll be repairing to the Eighties for lunch, because, well, they know us, and the food is both reasonably priced, and tasty.