The Easter Bonnet Parade---A Barbadian Tradition

Since in my lexicon the only time I'd heard of an Easter Bonnet Parade was when I watched an old movie where Julie Garland was singing about it, I was surprised when we were invited to attend one shortly after we moved here.  Since then, it has become a family tradition to go to the parade and to participate. 

Like most competitive things involving children, some parents go overboard and the child is only the model rather than the creator of her bonnet.  However there is a push to reward the children who create their own hats and my kids, who love to be creative, jumped right in.  These pics are from the parade two years ago. 

I started out by taking my kids to the local craft store to pick out supplies.  The girls went for ribbons, flowers, stuffed animals and sparkles.  The boys decided to use their favorite things--thanks for saving money, boys.  After some fancy glue gun work and sewing, here are the results.

This is my neice's creation.  She was in from Texas for a spring break visit.  She really got into the spirit.

This one is Butterfly's bonnet. She supervised construction and named the bonnet---spring lamb.

My oldest son made a bionicle hatband for a battered cowboy hat and called it Cowboy Bionicle.

My younger son opted to use Hot Wheels on his hat.  His was called Hot Wheels Forever.  The black eye is from a head on collision with a neighbor kid. 

Here are the girls ready to parade.

Little Miss and I right before the parade started.

Here are some of the more elaborate entries.  You can tell that some people took a LOT of time and effort.  We'll be working on our hats today and the parade is Sunday afternoon.  Look for pics of our newest attempts soon!