On Saturday, September 17, traffic stopped in downtown Northampton as children, older folks, and everyone in between boogied up Main Street from Hawley Street to the Academy of Music. The benefit parade for Northampton Neighbors—with roughly 150 members and several Special Interest Groups participating, either as marchers or volunteers—became a community celebration with local nonprofits and businesses, elected officials and spectators (some in costume) seen grinning from ear to ear.
Forbes Library carried butterfly books, Historic Northampton paddled by in canoes, and the YMCA sang the "YMCA" song. Passersby were treated to doozy hairdos, S'Heros, and a fetching gargoyle mascot, all lifted up by the sounds of the Expandable Brass Band and ably assisted by over 40 community volunteers. There were flying vegetables, competitive coffee-drinking liars, weird creatures of all kinds, and a caravan of tricked-out assistive bikes and trikes.
There was "No Place Like Home" on the Applied Mortgage float; Paintbox Theatre ran the rapids and Delap Real Estate went on a Magical Mystery Tour. Grand-ish Marshals Kelsey Flynn, Bill Dwight, and Dennis Lee rode in style in a 1965 Oldsmobile convertible.
The inaugural DoozyDo Parade served as a magnet for creativity, compassion, sense of fun, and community spirit and produced a joyful, memorable event in support of an exceptional organization. Check out the DoozyDo photo album!
Join us next year on Saturday, September 23, for DoozyDo Too!
Photo: Paul Shoul