"Breathing, shooting and snorting fire, rolling, dancing and marching, Star Wars characters, deranged motor contraptions and, of course, the Mad Hatter and his tea partiers will hit the streets Saturday in what is arguably Vallejo's signature event. Berkeley had its How Berkeley Can You Be parade, San Francisco has the Pride Parade and Vallejo has the Mad Hatter Parade, now in its 15th year."
"The event opens with a festival with all kinds of amusements, including a holiday market, a food court and unicorns, in the Unity Plaza area downtown at 2 p.m. The parade begins at 4:30 p.m., departing from Sacramento and Georgia streets and ending behind the JFK Library for a tree-lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. This year, Vallejo Mayor Andrea Sorce, Grand Marshal Freddie Stone of Sly and the Family Stone"
"The degree of whimsy in the parade is hard to overstate, given such phenomena as the Star Wars storm troopers led by Darth Vader, the Grinch Dance and the Burning Man steampunk vehicles. "It's like the Nutcracker Suite," said Mad Hatter organizer Frank Malifrando, referring to the classic Christmas ballet. "You have standard versions and then you have variations. It's the same with holiday parades."
Vallejo hosts an annual Mad Hatter Parade featuring fire performers, Star Wars characters, deranged motor contraptions, Alice in Wonderland figures and large-scale whimsy. The event begins with a downtown festival offering a holiday market, food court and amusements, then a parade departs at 4:30 p.m. and concludes with a tree-lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. Local leaders and grand marshals perform the countdown. The procession blends unusual acts like steampunk vehicles and storm troopers with traditional elements such as Santa, cadets, dance troupes, a fire engine and cultural groups.
Read at The Mercury News
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