Yesterday we set the World Record for “Largest Rainbow Parade” with 179 beautiful, colorful souls! I couldn’t believe it when RecordSetter announced the final count because 79, the year I was born, is my lucky number!
We’ll have TONS of photos from Mindy Best coming soon, but #RainbowParade goers’ photos and videos are already popping up all over the place, so Emily of RecordSetter set up this Storify. Here is one of my favorites so far: Jonathan Mann, who has been writing and recording a song a day for over 1000 days, made a music video that shows what it’s like to be in the belly of the parade…
Let the countdown to the World’s Largest Rainbow Parade on Saturday, April 28 with RecordSetter begin! I am getting really excited thinking about so many incredible color lovers in one place. People are coming from all over to join us here in Brooklyn, and I truly believe it will be a magical afternoon.
But now I bet you’re wondering, how will this thing actually go down? That’s why I’ve put together this handy-dandy reference for you!
TOP FIVE THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
1. We meet at NOON at the Brooklyn Bridge Park, using the Main Street entrance. Parade starts at 1:00. 2. Temps are predicted to be VERY CHILLY. Dress appropriately but remember, HEAD TO TOE IN ONE BRIGHT COLOR! 3. Wear comfy shoes and keep your spirits high. It’s a long but awesome walk. 4. The Girl Walk // All Day Team will be teaching choreography and filming us. Get ready to dance! 5. Have fun! Spread the joy!
It’s almost my birthday again, and you know what that means… RAINBOW PARADE TIME!
This year we’ll endeavor to create the World’s LARGEST Rainbow Parade! (Seriously, we are going for a World Record, thanks to RecordSetter, and I am REALLY excited!) Moms, grandpas, little sisters, uncles, cousins, puppies, goldfish… EVERYONE is welcome! All you need to do is dress head to toe in one color and meet us on April 28 to parade over the Brooklyn Bridge.
You can read more over on the Kickstarter campaign I created in order to raise the necessary cashola to hire the 20-piece marching band, get balloons blown up, you know, all those things necessary for a successful parade. If we can get this funded, it will be the BEST birthday present ever!
Parts (only parts) of today were messy and ugly. I needed to find something beautiful to focus on, and then I saw a tweet that it was Siblings Day. (Yep, it exists.) Actually, Siblings Day was April 10, but nothing helps move me out of a funk like finding a way to remind myself exactly how lucky I really am. (Lucky so and so, right?) Well, my sister totally does the job!
This is my only sister, Amy. Here we are with my mom in New Orleans this past winter. My mom wanted a portrait of us for her holiday gift, and while we did take a traditional portrait, I also convinced them it would be fun to dress up and trounce around NOLA. Actually, “convinced” is too strong a word. Really all I had to do was mention it. Again, I’m pretty damn lucky, right? It turns out if you get dressed up in sequins and feathers in New Orleans, you 1.) end up making your own parade and then 2.) eventually find a band for that parade! And did I mention all three of us are wearing sequins of the second-hand variety?
On Monday I took a group of AWESOME intrepid TEDActive attendees on a tour of Palm Springs second-hand shops BY BIKE! I can’t wait to share the stories and photos of the fun we had! But I’m busy soaking in amazing ideas and people here at TEDActive. In the meantime, a lot of attendees who couldn’t attend the tour (we only had enough bikes for 20) have asked where they can go to hit some shops before they head out of town. Ask and ye shall receive! Here’s the list of stores we visited on our tour…
They say you never forget your first poncho. This is mine, and it was love at first sight. I spotted it from across a crowded field on a hot, muggy day of the most recent Brimfield Antique Market. As it was August, the last thing I wanted to touch was a heavy wool item, but I couldn’t resist the beautiful colors, and I knew my future self would thank me come winter. Man was I right! Wearing this is like hanging out inside a hug. And I always get smiles and winks from the people I pass. Based on this blog post title, which was suggested by my Studiomates, I gather my poncho makes me look like a Technicolor version of Clint Eastwood. Hey, I’m cool with that.
folk-artsy hat - $20 Carousel Antiques, Hudson NY
rainbow poncho - $20* Brimfield Antiques Market, Brimfield MA
color wheel pendant necklace** - gift from Maria
printed canvas vest - $7 East Village Buffalo Exchange
striped shirt - $8 East Village Buffalo Exchange
teal britches*** - $3 St Matthews Goodwill, Louisville KY
bright green belt - $2 Fulton Mall Goodwill, Brooklyn NY
red roper boots - $12 Repeat Street Revolution, Starkville MS
I had so much fun in this outfit when I wore it to the AIGA/NY Winter Bash that I decided to wear it again to celebrate New Year’s Eve!
I believe I was officially the sparkliest person in my hometown of Starkville, Mississippi on this particular evening, and while my outfit may have temporarily blinded some unsuspecting party-goers, it was really my insides that felt like they’d been coated with glitter. Surrounded by my mom, stepdad, sister, brother-in-law, three of my best friends since childhood and their fellas (one all the way from where he’s currently stationed in South Korea), I spent the evening beaming. It was a pretty decent way to start 2012, which I predict will go down in the books as “The Year of The Sparkle.”
green sequin shirt - $55 (+$9 shipping) Etsy: BambieJonesVintage
pink tule skirt - $18 East Village Buffalo Exchange
embellishments - $12 Guvnor’s and Downtown Brooklyn Goodwill
red tights and silver Rockette shoes - in my closet 5+ years
Something about working around all these digital masterminds at Studiomates has me going analog, as in cutting and pasting using actual scissors and glue. Of course I scan it all back into the computer so it really is digital in the end, but the process of pushing paper with my fingers instead of a mouse is fun! It feels like recess!
LOOK OUT! Cat wearing giant plaid pants alert! (Giant as in the size of the plaid, not the size of the pants, although by cat standards, I guess these pants would be kinda large.)
Of course I love mixing super bright colors, but lately I’m deriving great satisfaction from mixing textures and patterns as well. Finding things that seem like they shouldn’t go together and putting them together anyway is oddly thrilling.
There’s geometry to it: the angular embroidery of this top next to the stripes of the sweater and plaid of the pants. I think it works, and the best part is, that’s all that really matters! Yeehaw.
cat hat - gift from friends at MailChimp
striped cardigan - $22 Side Show in Hudson, NY
embroidered button-down shirt - $18 Side Show in Hudson, NY
plaid pants - $22 Side Show in Hudson, NY
two-tone cowboy boots - $22 Side Show in Hudson, NY
Studiomates + Muppets = Studiomuppets (or S’muppets for short).
It’s one of my fondest hopes to one day be walking down the street and pass a Muppet… on his way to work, or band practice, or where ever Muppets like to go. And upon seeing this Muppet, I simply smile and nod because passing a Muppet is NO BIG DEAL. They’re just here, among us. I believe with Muppets around, we would never run out of friendship, acceptance, music, laughter, or color. That’s the kind of world I want to live in.
The closest I’ve come to this, thus far, is to encourage my friends to dress as if they were Muppets. These are photos from the Friday before Halloween (or “Halloween Beer Friday” in Studiomates terms). The fact that I’m friends with people willing to so readily pretend to be Muppets means I must already live in a world where some pretty serious awesomeness abounds.
