Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Tips for Riding in a Parade

If your daughter has won a beauty pageant, she might very well be invited to ride in a parade. Some larger pageant systems have their own floats on which all the queens ride. Lots of other pageants don’t have their own float, so for these, you’ll probably have to ride in a convertible. Some pageant directors are good about providing convertibles, but others might not have access to convertibles. In that case, of course, you’ll have to find your own car.

Finding a convertible to ride in might not be an easy task. It’s a lot easier if you have a friend or family member with one. If you don’t, and if the pageant director can’t help you find one, ask around at local car dealerships. They might be willing to loan you a used convertible for the parade. Another option is to rent a car for the day of the parade.

If you have a toddler or young child scheduled to ride in the event, she’ll need some supervision, obviously. If it’s a float she’s riding on, you’ll probably want to be up there with her to keep her from falling or jumping off. But how would it look for you to be up there with the queens? A better idea is to have the miss queen be in charge of the child. This is how we’ve handled the situation, and it always worked out well.

If the child is riding in a convertible, place her on the trunk, with her legs hanging down in the back seat. You or another adult should sit in the back and hold her legs. That way, there’s no way she’s going anywhere! Remember that parades travel at a snail’s pace, so there’s really very little danger involved.

What to wear? Your pageant director will provide you with some guidelines. Some pageants want all the queens dressed in their pageant dresses, some want all the girls to be wearing the same color dresses, and some require special apparel like long gloves. Make sure you know before you go!

Watch the weather closely, too. If there’s a chance of rain, you might not want your new $2,000 glitz pageant dress exposed to water. If pageant dresses are required for the ride and rain is a possibility, wear a cheap pageant dress.

What if it’s cold? Pageant dresses aren’t made for cold weather. Most are either sleeveless or have short sleeves. If it’s cold outside the day of the parade, supply your daughter with a white faux-fur cape. This is very elegant looking, and it will keep her warm!

If you’re dealing with a younger girl, don’t go all out with her hair. Just have it neat, attractive, and SPRAYED!

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