Quote:
Originally Posted by kornbread
Well, that's great guys, but the source is the parade organizer, and surprise! They claim to be the best. Imagine that.
500k - Seriously consider how many people that is and where the parade goes. The parade route is 2.6 miles. How much space is there for the crowd?
Think of the security needed. Think of the cleanup. How do they get there and how jammed up would the streets be when they leave?
I don't doubt they get a good crowd. No one can really say since the crowds are just estimated. Like I said it sounds like a tall tale or a one-up story.
I can see the Battle of Flowers organizers celebrating "Wow! We drew 375 thousand people this year".
Then the Flambeau guy stands and says "Oh yeah? Well we drew..." pauses and puts pinky to corner of mouth "...5 HUNDRED THOUSAND!" The evil laughter erupts...
|
No, those numbers are spot on. I could see the one-up thing if the numbers kept escalating year after year; see-sawing or whatever. But Flambeau has always been larger, by about a 1/3. So it's not the one-upmanship at all.
Also, if you've been there, you can understand how. Let me explain some of the logistics. First, its not like a regular parade in BFE with folk just standing on the sidewalk watching floats go by. They actually narrow the drivable part of the street by placing bleachers (large capacity - not little ones) IN the street on both sides, backed up to the curb. In places where there is open space next to the street (like a park) they will place larger bleachers there. In the places where space dosent allow for bleachers, they will set up folding chairs 8 rows deep; IN THE STREET. In fact, drive down Broadway today (its there year-round) and you can see an orange line about an inch wide running down the length of the parade route on both sides of the street . Its in the center lane of the three north-bound lanes. Same on the other side. This line shows how far out bleachers and chairs can be set. Broadway is reduced from 80 feet to 40 feet - for the entire length of the parade. Commerce less-so, but it too is reduced. So not only do people stack in from the sidewalks, they go up into the bleachers. Also, think of the density of downtown; you'll have people on every floor of a building facing the parade route watching. DPT Labs has a building across from KLRN on Broadway and they throw a big party during the parades, catered with music and such. ZI bet there's 500-1000 people in their garage alone watching the parade, hanging out, etc. Plus, and I am not kidding here, THE ENTIRE TOWN SHUTS DOWN for Battle of Flowers. Every public school district has BOF day as a holiday. Banks close. All city offices close. Some state offices close, or offer reduced staffs. Even the post-offices here close at noon. If places or businesses must do some business that day, they ususally close at noon for the parade. Everything else in town is dead. Sure the mall is open, and HEB's and Wal-Mart and such, but a ton of offices and smaller mom-and-pop shops are all closed. And yes, traffic sucks - going in and coming out. Its not as bad if you know downtown well and the side streets and where the good close parking is, but it still sucks. SAPD does a good job with security. On Broadway, at every intersection there are about 6 SAPD officers. Plus officers on rooftops and plain clothed officers in the crowd. So it's completely possible that the crowd estimates are spot-on.
For the record, BoF kicks Flambeau's ass anyday. Flambeau might be bigger, but it all started with BoF. Plus, we get off work for BoF. That right there makes it better. lol.