Springtime Tallahassee celebrated its 45th annual grand parade Saturday.
Susan Harris, a language arts teacher at Elizabeth Cobb Middle School, was a part of the Springtime Tallahassee Antebellum Krewe, a float in the parade. Harris said the krewe started preparing the float in January.
“We meet down at the float bar one or twice a week working on the parade,” Harris said. “The camaraderie with all the other people down there, it’s fun and just celebrating springtime.”
Springtime Tallahassee has been measured as one of the biggest Southeastern parades, drawing more than 70,000 onlookers. Sharona Brown, a Tallahassee resident, came to watch the floats while being involved with the community.
“Well, I like to come to community events to give my son experience outside of school,” Brown said. “So far we enjoyed the ‘Wizard of Oz’ float, and I see us coming back next year.”
Springtime Tallahassee is a celebration of spring coming into the community. However, it was originated in 1967 as a civic organization to bring awareness to the state’s capital because legislators suggested making Orlando, Fla., the capital.
Brian Cardinale, Tallahassee Democrat advertising sales manager and Springtime Tallahassee sponsor, discussed the preparation and expectations of the parade.
“Working with the sponsors and organizers, I went to several of the functions with the krewes to see what they do to build the floats and coordination of everything,” Cardinale said. “There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into it.”
There is also a difference from last year’s advertising technique in comparison to this year’s for the parade.
“As far as advertising in the publication for Springtime Tallahassee, it was a periodical insert, and we’ve made a special Sunday edition, so we’ve changed things internally,” Cardinale said.
With the many events Springtime Tallahassee offered, managing the events of the parade proved to be difficult. 12