I have been hired to do a very short teddy bear parade, followed by a magic show. I guess the parade route is a block or two long. The young children will all be carrying teddy bears. At first I thought I could balance balloon teddy bears (made out of 360s so they are big and rubber cemented together.) That will work okay if it's not too windy and if the balloons don't pop. I could walk an invisible teddy bear, but that's admittedly kinda lame. Any other ideas for a teddy bear parade?

That's cute. I like it.

Any other ideas for a teddy bear parade?

In fact, yes!


http://www.clown-forum.com/attachments/clown-forum/1684d1273122079-mark-renfro-mooseburger-camp-2005-003.jpg

Pickles,
The only thing I can think of is a play off of words bear, bare or barely there bear? Or hillbilly talk bar for bear? Carry a big pole with bullet holes in it saying your daddy shot a bar? Probably too horrible for kids-admittedly kinda lame too?
Sara K.

Well, I was going for pajamas, but I must admit that Pinkberry has convinced me how a lace teddy would make an awful good costume, too!

You could exercise your right to bare arms.

You might even wear a Cubs cap.

That's cute. I like it.

Pinkyberry,

I think I like some of your ideas, but I won't know for sure until I get a few more details. Do any of your suggestions require any type of real balancing or juggling skills? If so, I don't like the ideas. So, your first idea about inserting the pole through the bear... Pardon me if this is a stupid question, but what purpose does the pole serve? Is it easier to balance a bear on a pole than it is to balance a plain old bear butt? Realistically, will I be able to walk and balance something simultaneously? I guess I have the same questions about the bear riding in the bowl. This sounds very challenging. And you can be certain that I will have a mini Pooh bear riding on my clown shoe. I may or may not complain that I have poo on my shoe.

That's cute. I like it.

I think you should dress up as Goldilocks and walk with the Three Bears... Oh, but wait, Pickles has green hair... I don't know if Greendilocks sounds as nice...

I'm thinkin' that I might seriously injure a toddler in the parade if I attempt the bear-on-a-stick-balancing trick. I just tried for the very first time to balance a broom on my hand. I did it in my family room, where all three of my children were camped out watching TV and playing on the computer. There were terrified screams as I nearly impaled and/or crushed my offspring with a broom handle.

I DO think that balancing is a skill I should work on, but I do not feel confident that I will have mastered it adequately by the parade date. Did I happen to mention that the parade is in six days?

Maybe there's something I could do with that giant ice cream cone that I made last year (the one that introduced me to expandable foam insulation). Maybe I could just attach a bear to the cone and share the ice cream cone with a bear. It could be "beary good pickleberry ice cream."

I once put teddy bears in an wagon,each of the bears an an music int. I called it my Teddy Bear band..I got some real laughs..
Red white and Blue cloth,and ribbons

It seems a better choice than walking down the street half naked!

I beg to differ. Here's hoping she's an absolute clutz and can't balance a thing!

I DO think that balancing is a skill I should work on, but I do not feel confident that I will have mastered it adequately by the parade date. Did I happen to mention that the parade is in six days?

Can you spin a plate? I can balance a spinning plate on my finger - EASY - and even hand it over to a kid who often handles the task fairly well, also. And if a broom seems a bit much initially, get a couple of peacock feathers. ANYONE can balance those almost instantly.

Tear a Teddy bear up and glue some of the parts to a rubber chicken.

CHANGE OF PLANS!!!! I was just looking at the schedule of festival events posted online, and while the woman I spoke with said the parade was a "Teddy Bear Parade," everything online says it is a "Kids Pet Costume parade." Hmmm. Forget the teddy bears. I'm gonna carry my cowgirl monkey puppet and have her eating my giant ice cream cone. And, no, I am not going to balance my monkey on my head or juggle Klondike bars. Not this time anyway. Thanks for all your terrific ideas.

Mayhaps if you have a large enough teddy bear grab a few pieces of strap cloth and put the bear reverse on your back. It would short of be a back pack which i think would be fun to see and this would also leave your hands free to use for other ideas. Not sure if this helps any either way good luck with your parade =)

That's cute. I like it.

Pinkberry, I sense that you are making fun of me again. Didn't you see that the theme of the parade is "DRESS UP YOUR PET"?!! My pet monkey is wearing a cowgirl costume!!!! As far as the ice cream cone goes, it doesn't really tie into the theme, but I've just been dying to use it in a parade. And the kids will think it's funny if the monkey eats my ice cream cone when I'm not looking. Just wait -- You'll see! Next year EVERYBODY will be doing this.

Yes, next year EVERYBODY will be eating Pickles' ice cream!

That's cute. I like it.

All I can say is that my feelings are incredibly hurt and the tiny bit of confidence I had in my craft has been smashed to smithereens.

Just kidding. It's okay if you don't like my cowgirl monkey idea. The major part of this gig is the magic show to follow. The parade is a one-or-two block jaunt that will be over in a few minutes. It's not the festival's big parade. I will try to come up with a better idea in the next few days, but, honestly, I think the monkey eating ice cream gag will work out fine. You haven't even SEEN my monkey puppet. She's really cute. And you know how awesome my expandable foam ice cream cone is.

Did I mention that this particular festival is called "Pea Soup Days"? I'm not kidding. It really is.

That's cute. I like it.

I once took a very large teddy bear, removed the stuffing from the legs, modified the feet to allow me to wear boots while using the legs as pants, rigged the top of the bears head with a headstall (reins) and dressed from the waist up as a rodeo clown with fake clown legs sicking out the front. I had a white square on my back with BEAR BACK RIDER and my contestant number on it. Made the front page of the Freestone county times and folks stopped me all along the parade route for pictures. Hope I explained this right. Just an idea. Bump a nose.

Did I mention that this particular festival is called "Pea Soup Days"? I'm not kidding. It really is.

I know all of you clowns are not going to let this get by. All I can say is "Is there a doctor in the house?"

I once took a very large teddy bear, removed the stuffing from the legs, modified the feet to allow me to wear boots while using the legs as pants, rigged the top of the bears head with a headstall (reins) and dressed from the waist up as a rodeo clown with fake clown legs sicking out the front. I had a white square on my back with BEAR BACK RIDER and my contestant number on it. Made the front page of the Freestone county times and folks stopped me all along the parade route for pictures. Hope I explained this right. Just an idea. Bump a nose.

You're a sadist AND a freak! I'm calling PETA on you.

Gee so many great Ideas. How about a street sweepers cart: Who says they gotta do it in the woods?

I think you should dress up as Goldilocks and walk with the Three Bears... Oh, but wait, Pickles has green hair... I don't know if Greendilocks sounds as nice...


Maybe she ate porridge that had gone off and became Mouldy-Locks..

That's cute. I like it.