05.30.20: Starlight Parade - Downtown PortlandWould you like to help us during one of our biggest, oldest, and highest-visibility events? Starlight Parade is coming up and we'd love your assistance!
We need a total (and maximum) of 10 marching spotters to help us at the Starlight Parade this year. Any number of volunteers are also welcome to stay back at the staging area with our vehicles to help keep an eye on things there and make sure there aren't any break-ins. Any spotters in excess of the 10 max need to stay back at the staging area.
- The 10 marching spotters can be SWO members or an adult (18+) immediate family member/household member/close friend of a marching costumer, or a spotter.
- Limit of 1 spotter per marching member (example: If a member lives with two brothers and they're not CCG/KB members, one of them is welcome to join in as a spotter).
- Two spotters will march at the back of the group to collect any pieces that may liberate themselves from our costumes. One of those two spotters will pull one wagon. The other eight spotters will be spread out to march next to our costumed marchers.
- Spotters will not be assigned to specific people, but the placement of spotters may be affected by characters who will potentially need extra attention during the parade.
- All spotters must agree to wear either a SWO spotter shirt (we have these to loan out if you don't have one of your own) or plain black shirt and plain shorts/pants (the darker the better, no patterns).
- All spotters must agree to "disappear" as much as possible. No interacting with the crowd (other than keeping them away from our costumers as needed), no hand gestures, etc. Focus on the marching costumers in your area to make sure everyone is doing okay.
- All spotters agree to follow the guidelines and instructions presented by the spotter lead (TBD) on the day of the event.
- All spotters need to sign up in advance.
If you're not already familiar with it, there's a lot of helpful information about this event
here. We will know our placement and meeting spots soon, so those are still subject to change, but for the most part, last year's info is still relevant this year.
PHOTOS UPLOADING LINK: SPOTTER ROSTER:
1. Monica (Mike K)
2. Guy S
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BACK 1:
BACK 2/WAGON PULLER:
Backups/On-Deck:
Volunteers to stay in the staging area and keep an eye on things:
GENERAL INFO- We are #TBD in the parade line up this year.
- Parade length is about 2.25 miles and takes anywhere from 60-90 minutes to march. Parade pace is 120 steps per minute. That's 2 steps per second. Be prepared for a rather brisk march at times! (Especially if we get stopped by the Max and have to make up space between us and the group in front of us.)
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO RIGHT NOW- Get cooling vests or other mechanisms for keeping yourself from overheating ready to go. One option: http://coolvest.com/ - Another option: Freeze water in a Camelback.
PRE-PARADE- Familiarize yourself with where we’re parking, meeting, and staging. Make a plan for how and when you will arrive.
- The day before the parade, wear your boots/shoes all day to get your feet used to them. Figure out where blisters might form and get some moleskin down on those areas so you don't have to deal with pain during the march.
DAY OF PARADE- Suggested packing list: Cooling devices to wear during the parade, band-aids/moleskin for blister prevention, something to eat and drink, picnic blankets or camp chairs, hand sanitizer, etc.
- Get some good sleep the night before the parade, and don't overexert yourself the day of the parade.
- Drink plenty of water all day long to make sure you are hydrated.
- Pre-parade is a great time to mingle with SWO members, spotters, and friends! Show up early and make a day of it!
- Plan your arrival at the staging area. Streets get closed off, so you may want to plan multiple routes/parking areas as fallbacks if you can't reach your preferred spot. Consider ridesharing or mass transit.
- Parking in the lot is not free. Expect to pay $7-$20 for the day. (Exact cost is not known at this time.)
- Eat something light before marching. It'll be awhile before you're able to eat again.
- Empty your bladder before marching. It'll be awhile before you're able to pee again.
- We will take a series of group photos before we start marching. More details will be posted a few days before the parade. We would really appreciate help from spotters with crowd control.
MARCHING IN THE PARADE- Keep the crowds away from our costumers when marching. Parade organizers prohibit any direct contact between us and the crowd.
- Along those lines, resist the urge to high-five the kids. If a kid up the street sees us high-fiving, they'll walk into the street, and things bog down.
- When the parade stops (which it usually does often for MAX and buses), people may come out to take pics. One of your duties is to dissuade them, but we might get diehards who are bound and determined to get pics with us. Don't encourage or welcome this behavior.
- Keep a close eye on the costumers in your zone. The weather shouldn't be unbearable warm this year, but it's sitll important for you to notice and recognize when our folks might be overheating. If necessary, be prepared to help a costumer exit the parade route and rest/remove their helmet.
- Be courteous to the crowd, but hold strong about keeping them from interacting directly with our costumers.
- The parade is long and you will get hot so don't overdo it. Keep steady pace.
- The live TV section is in the last half of the route, on Broadway between Taylor and Yamhill. You'll notice camera operators and/or news reporters who may approach us as we're marching. Just keep moving with the group. Do not acknowledge the cameras in any way. As spotters, you should disappear into the surroundings as much as possible.
- The parade does not end where we start. We will need to walk about 13 blocks after the parade route ends to get back to our staging area. Costumers might remove helmets and other costume pieces for the walk back; your assistance carrying items like this might be requested.
TIMING This is as set as it's going to be until any last-minute changes on event day.
Noon: Suggested arrival time if you want to get to the parking lot before they start closing roads.
1:00pm: Staging area roads closed (NW Burnside to Glisan and NW Broadway to 10th) - Depending on who and how you ask, the police officers might let you through even after roads are closed. If you’re traveling on Burnside to get to the staging area at this point, remember that you’ll need to be going westbound since you cannot turn left off Burnside into the staging area.
6:00pm: Parade route roads except Burnside closed (4th, Salmon, Broadway, Washington, 12th, Taylor)
6:30pm: Parade orientation hosted by our fearless leaders -
ALL MARCHERS AND SPOTTERS MUST BE PRESENT - We advise showing up no later than 6pm to ensure you're present for the 6:30 check-in.
Immediately following the parade orientation - Spotter-specific orientation with lead TBD
7:00pm: Burnside closed - We'll start getting into costume to be ready and present at the staging area no later than 8:00
8:00pm: Group photos in our staging area - Please help us with crowd control!
8:30pm: Parade scheduled to start
9:00pm-9:30pm: We start marching - This is an estimate
HELPFUL LINKSApplication (including Rules and Regulations on page 2)Participant Instructions MAPSOfficial Starlight Parade Route Map:
Parking and Staging 
Notes:
- Our main parking area is noted towards the bottom right. There are entrances from Broadway and 8th. For navigation purposes, you can use this address: 122 NW 8th Ave, Portland, OR 97209
- There is an alternate parking lot on Glisan between 9th and Park that might also be an option. Note that we have not confirmed whether or not this is a public lot, so use at your own risk.
- We will hang out all afternoon in the park block directly west of our main parking lot.
- Our staging area is a few blocks north of our parking/hangout spot this year. Note that we still recommend parking in our usual spot since that will be closer at the end of the parade.
- Green stars on this map indicate public restrooms/port-a-potties.
Overview Map 
