Parade the Circle started at 12 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, but by 10:30 a.m. the streets were already lined with people looking to get a spot in the shade, and the air smelled distinctly of popcorn.  People were staking out their spots and opening up their lunch boxes to give their small children food before they became too engrossed in the parade.

The Cleveland Museum of Art’s Parade the Circle was a great combination of moving art, community presentations and exceptional music. The parade was broken up into nine parts, though it was so seamless that you would have never known unless you had a program.  Each float presented a new experience to the viewer that either made them laugh, smile or think.

The musical groups were well spread out among the floats, to the point that just as the sound of one was fading out you could hear the next musical act loud and clear.  There were school drumlines, family jazz bands and a group performing Calypso music.

The parade as a whole was an outstanding event, with a float for everyone to enjoy, but there were some that clearly stood out. During the Wild West float, one of the men in a motorized wheelchair was going around shouting at the audience and acting as rowdy as you would expect a cowboy to be.

“The Official Flower of Cleveland” was easily the funniest float of the entire parade, as the flowers in question were bright orange traffic cones led by someone dressed as a traffic director.

The float “Cirque des Enfants” presented by the Coventry Kids was another highlight.  Their float consisted of a giant trampoline on which two young women were singing. Behind them two younger girls dressed as gladiators were performing stunts.

One of the stilt walkers tried to scare the crowd and nearly fell on them. Other stilt walkers were dancing on their stilts, making most of the audience wonder how they had not fallen yet. The same went for the unicyclists speeding around the “Dragon Kingdom” float.

What was also shocking was the age range of the performers in the parade—there were young kids who looked barely old enough to be walking all the way up to senior citizens wheeling down the streets.

Parade the Circle was a fantastic day—a long series of events that left one feeling satisfied and just a little more cultured.

The Cleveland Museum of Art’s Parade the Circle was a great combination of moving art, community presentations and exceptional music. The parade as a whole was an outstanding event, with a float for everyone to enjoy, but there were some that clearly stood out. What was also shocking was the age range of the performers in the parade, from young kids who looked barely old enough to be walking to senior citizens wheeling down the streets. Parade the Circle was a fantastic day-long series of events that left one feeling satisfied and just a little more cultured.