Michigan Neighborhood Has Costume Parades during COVID-19 – The Good News
Be right back - I need to organize one of these in our neighborhood.
The Ferndale T-Rex Walking Club is exactly what it sounds like - it's a club of neighbors that put on those nifty inflatable costumes. The club was formed in March to help lift the spirits of the community during the quarantine.
So far, they've been on 11 walks. And they never tell the neighborhood when they'll be going on a walk - it just happens. And walkers remain anonymous; they wear a mask INSIDE their costume to keep their identity a secret.
Characters include a unicorn, a giraffe, a bear, a stegosaurus, Scooby-Doo, a pterodactyl, a triceratops, a penguin, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, a T-Rex, a Minion and more.
The pop-up parades have grown just a few people, out for an afternoon walk, to a few dozen on parade.
One of the founding members has broken her anonymity - her name is Sarah Ignash. She owns a dog boarding/grooming business in Roseville and, with the stay-at-home order, she's been out of work and feeling anxious. So she decided to start the parade - she already had a T-rex costume and a friend had given her a unicorn costume for Christmas.
Most of the members of the walking club are also members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, which has been around for 150 years.
Her idea was so popular that 200 people joined overnight. Sarah didn't want to be responsible for that amount of people, so she canceled the original parade and started a private group.
Soooo...if we just show up in an inflatable costume and wait, can we join?