I love a parade!

Park and Stark is where the action was for the Starlight Parade on Saturday night. This was our first experience with the evening event. We took the bus downtown so we wouldn't have to worry about parking - this turned out to be a VERY good idea.
People were ready for the parade by 6:30 pm but it didn't kick off until 8:30pm. We had a couple of drinks and some appetizers as we waited for the sun to set.
Once the sun was gone the festivities began (along with the rain). All I wanted was to see a band and a brightly lit float, boy oh boy, I got so much more. The Portland Fire Department carried in a ladder that about 12 guys held straight in the air. One guy climbed up and dove off into the waiting rescue thingy being held by about 12 other firefighters. This looked like great fun, unless you missed the target of course.
There were colorful floats with loud music, and sexy dancers that moved so fast the cow was having a hard time keeping up with them. The best part of the parade was when the Largest marching band in the world past in front of us. They took up 2 city blocks and have over 500 members ranging in age from 18 to 85. Some of the members wore little lights on their glasses so they could see their sheet music. The BAND had probably their biggest fan sitting right next to us. As the band came around the corner this guy stood up with his sign that read "World's Best Band" and his T-shirt which read, "I love a parade!"