Canteclaer parade
One can never have too many parades and too many giants in one weekend, was our motto last weekend. After the giant parade "Reuzeleuven" in Leuven on Saturday we visited my parents on the day that the 5-yearly Canteclaer parade went out in my childhood town.
We were in doubt whether we wanted to see yet another parade in the same weekend, especially since it'd be rather late. Jan and I were simply tired, had not seen much of each other all week and simply longed to an evening at home. I had the feeling I know the Canteclaer parade by heart: the history of Deinze, the history and the importance of the local chicken market, the epic tales of the fox Reynaert and the rooster Canteclaer.
But a parade that only leaves every 5 years is an excellent marketing tool. If it'd do so every 2 years, we surely wouldn't have gone. But in 5 years, Kabouter would be 8,5 years already and his attitude to parades would be totally different again. And where would we be in 5 years, chances are we'd not be around. And so you doubt. It's a big parade after all, that in its succes years in the 90ies was even broadcast live on tv.
Last minute, we left with Kabouter while my parents would babysit Beertje. While walking downtown , there were more and more people walking the same direction. And then we saw the first groups.
The fluidity of the parade was sometimes interrupted (and once an ambulance had to come through) but the sunny weather kept everyone cheerful.
We were in doubt whether we wanted to see yet another parade in the same weekend, especially since it'd be rather late. Jan and I were simply tired, had not seen much of each other all week and simply longed to an evening at home. I had the feeling I know the Canteclaer parade by heart: the history of Deinze, the history and the importance of the local chicken market, the epic tales of the fox Reynaert and the rooster Canteclaer.
But a parade that only leaves every 5 years is an excellent marketing tool. If it'd do so every 2 years, we surely wouldn't have gone. But in 5 years, Kabouter would be 8,5 years already and his attitude to parades would be totally different again. And where would we be in 5 years, chances are we'd not be around. And so you doubt. It's a big parade after all, that in its succes years in the 90ies was even broadcast live on tv.
Last minute, we left with Kabouter while my parents would babysit Beertje. While walking downtown , there were more and more people walking the same direction. And then we saw the first groups.
We saw the history of Deinze coming by with some new aspects eg the a tribute to Lucien Buysse who won the Tour de France in 1926 and a tableau vivant of the famous local painting "De Bietenoogst" of Emile Claus.
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| De Bietenoogst - tableau vivant after Emile Claus |
The last traditional part of the parade about the chicken market and the tales of Reynaert and Canteclaer seemed a lot shorter than I remembered. And the float of Canteclaer itself seemed small!
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| Beware of your geese (chicken) when the fox preaches |
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