The Lake Parade

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Well, I must say, in Europe they definitely do festivals different than in the US... Neither is better than the other, just different. I think the Lake Parade is no exception. I didn't actually know what to expect, except that the young people at my work who are native to Geneva had been discussing this parade/music festival for several days and I really had no idea what to expect. It seemed odd that it started at 16h00, lasting until relatively early the next morning. I heard there were floats, and of course, I'm thinking something along the lines of the Rose Parade of the Thanksgiving Day Parade.



Alas, I was quite mistaken!


The Lake Parade consists of twenty or so 'floats' consisting of open bedded 18 wheeler trucks, barely decorated, with dancers, barely dressed, dancing on them as they move slowly along the roads at the edge of Lake Geneva. The 'floats' are each home to a different style of music, be it Latin, pop rock, hip hop, techno, electric, 80's, house, etc. Some people stuck with their favorite float all along the parade route, several kms long, while others, including myself wandered up and down the parade route, trying to take it all in - the music, the noise, the costumes since most people dressed up either in full costumes or they dyed their hair, for example. I was impressed with all the men dressed in drag, not just the drag queens, who were able to make so far in high heels. I can barely make it to work in my high heels, I have a hard time imaging a guy walking 5+kms in stilettos, but some were doing it!


It was fun to watch the different music lovers so close together as they wore quite different costumes as well as had different dance styles. As expected the Latin float had great dancers performing complicated dance moves in tight spaces, while the 'goth' float consisted of unhappy-looking teenage boys with dyed black hair and a few perky looking girls, 'dancing' which consisted mainly of standing in place, looking sullen, bobbing their heads to the music, while their feet and hands remained stationary. No. Really.


The best thing about the Lake Parade is the varied audience - there were as expected the drunken (and high) teenagers and twentysomethings following and stumbling along, but I also saw people in their 50s and 60s, families with little kids picnicking and watching the parade-goers, and mums with their teenagers (including one mother - and I do hope she was his mother- holding up a teenager who was obviously drunk). It was a welcoming atmosphere - people of all shapes and sizes were getting jiggy with it. I think we would be hard pressed to find something of a similar nature in the US, well, at least one so alcoholicly/drug/nakedness inclined.


I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. I also have some cool videos, but I can't figure out how to post them. Sorry if they are too graphic for some of you.

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