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2008 Rose Parade Expo Pasadena, CA
We were part of a volunteer group that helped promote
Alaska and spent three days as part of the Alaska booth at the Rose Parade
Expo grounds in Pasadena from January 1 – 3. It was very tiring but was
quite a wonderful and fun experience for both humans and canines alike.
This was Alaska’s first time in the Rose Parade, even though they had
previously applied 5 other times. But it was well worth the wait as they
ended up winning the National Trophy, which goes to the float the best
depicts life in the USA.
The Alaska Float:
We weren't quite sure what it was going to be like being part of their Expo
booth (and neither did the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau) but we
were there to attract visitors and to educate and inform them about
dogsledding and huskies, both of which are very much a part of Alaska's
history and culture. On the first day, we had 9 adult dogs: Blue, Coal
and Scarlet with Matt and Claire; Gaia, Gidget and Silver with Henning; and
my huskies Niko, Lyka and Obi. A wonderful couple, Dale and Alice Counts of
Counts Cove Kennels were also on hand with some of their husky puppies. On
the second and third day, it was Henning and myself with our six pack plus
the puppies.
How many huskies can you fit in a VW van? (due to limited vendor parking
pass, we had to drive into the expo grounds for about a mile with 9
huskies):
Little did we know how much of an attraction these dogs were to become. With
the adult dogs, we took turns standing in front of the Alaska booth 2 dogs
at a time while the other dogs stayed either on a picket line or in the
x-pen. And the visitors just loved them! They were admired, petted, poked
and hugged by adults and children alike and had numerous photos taken. All
the while they stayed very calm and for the most part, enjoyed all the
attention and touching they were getting. At times, they were practically
being mobbed by people but they stayed on an even keel and never once became
agitated. I myself was a bit surprised at how well they handled themselves
--- they are used to being around people but never on a large stage such as
this one where they were constantly exposed to thousands of admirers.
Some of the more common comments and questions we got were:
Are these wolves?
I thought they would be bigger. (yeah, we get that a lot.)
How much do they weigh? (when we asked them to guess, they would usually say
between 100 & 130 lbs)
Are they great with kids?
Are they typically this calm around people? (huskies LOVE being around
people
but these dogs are very well socialized AND also get plenty of exercise)
Are these the dogs that pull sleighs? (only when Rudolph is on vacation,
otherwise they pull sleds)
Their fur is so soft!
Is that a rare color? (pointing to one of the reds)
What's wrong with his eye? Is he blind? (referring to Niko, who has one
brown and one blue eye)
That is so cool! How do they get two colored eyes? (Niko lost one of his
contact lenses this morning)
Were these the models that they used for the Alaska float?
Do they shed a lot? (nah, just twice a year, six months at a time)
How much?
I want one! (we then proceeded to tell them about the traits of a husky and
how
big of a responsibility it is to own one. Also to consider into adopting a
dog
from shelters or rescue groups --- we referred a lot of people to Husky
Camp.)
BTW, it was warm on January 1 (low 70s) but got quite cold on the following
days (high of 50 on the 2nd and about mid-50s on the 3rd). And so on Friday
and Saturday, we were able to do demos --- the plan was to hook up a 6 dog
team to the cart and do a short run. I am used to doing scootering demos but
this was my first time doing a carting demo. We probably had a couple of
hundred people or more lined up alongside us as I narrated a little bit
about the history of dogsledding in Alaska, including the Great Serum Run in
Nome and the Iditarod. I then proceeded to explain the different gear
and members of a sled dog team, as Henning hooked up our 6-dog team to the
cart.
Once that was all done, the finale was Henning driving the cart with the
team doing a short dash of about 50 yards and then turning them around and
back to starting area. It was quite a sight to see (unfortunately, I wasn't
able to take pics), as people were lined up eagerly anticipating and
cheering them on as they were about to take off. And take off they did, and
somehow Henning managed to stop them. One of our challenges though was
popcorn --- we were right beside the kettle corn booth and the expo grounds
were littered these tasty distractions. On one of our runs, Gaia, who was on
lead with Obi, apparently spied a piece of popcorn on the ground and dove
underneath him to grab it. A comedic moment for sure but the audience loved
it.
In the end, I must say that these dogs proved to be excellent ambassadors
for both mushing and Alaska and we were able to accomplish our goal of
bringing attention to the Alaska booth and educating the public about
dogsledding and huskies.
Here's a link to a slideshow of pics I took --- it's unedited as I haven't
had time to label the photos:
http://tinyurl.com/7cznd7
Rancy
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