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PARADE MARCHES TO BOOM BOX BEAT
by Shawn Mawhiney, Norwich Bulletin
July 5, 1993
WILLIMANTIC--What's a parade without a marching band? In Willimantic, it's the 8th annual Boom Box Parade.
Lining up at Jillson Square and marching about a half mile down Main Street to Memorial Park were local businesses and organizations such as the Boy Scouts and Little League.
The parade included floats, antique cars, horses--and plenty of boom boxes and stereo equipment.
Founder Kathy Clark said the idea for the parade came eight years ago when Willimantic was stuck with no parade becaue it had no band.
Jokingly, Clark suggested they carry boom boxes and tune in to the radio.
Wen it was suggested that her idea might not be such a bad one, she talked with representatives of WILI Radio (1400-AM), and the rest is history.
According to Clark, the parade has been more than just a local curiosity. She said they caught a lucky break early when a reporter for the Willimantic Chronicle was also a writer for the New York Times.
Before she knew it, an article appeared in The Times about her fledgling parade.
The publicity did not end there. The parade also made news on CBS and NBC, Clark said.
Although the publicity has died down, enthusiasm for the parade in recent years has grown.
"It's a fun parade," said Clark, "people are having a good time."
Nine-year-old Nick Desautels, who was part of the parade for the second straight year, seemed to agree. Riding upon a float called The Lily Pad, Nick tossed candy to the crowd.
It was not the most fun he had all day, however. Earlier Desautels ran into a horse that wouldn't keep its mouth shut.
"It kept yeaing," so I told him to shut up--and he did. He's not "yeaing" anymore," he said proudly. |
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