LOL! Love it!

Cantwait, another sensible post. But everyone should understand that pulling off a big parade is not an easy task and requires lots of volunteers.

The best chance it has without the Morse family behind it is, IMHO, with a joint effort of the TV groups that like to participate in these parades. Just a few thoughts of mine.

Remember when there was only one town square, the parages were huge. Then came LSL and now there were two parades only smaller. And currently there are(will be) three squares..........three parades; probably not. Becomes a big effort to put on three parades several times a year.
It all most likely be consolidated to the Polo Grounds, isn't that where the Christmas parade is now being held?

OK, I pay the permit fee, so now I can have my parade, right? Now I am told I have to pay for all the public services that goes along with my parade. I have to pay for police, and fire protection. I am told I have to supply proper E.M.T. protection for all the participants, the number of technicians increases by the number of people attending my parade. Sorry, I don't want to have my parade anymore.

No reason was given

maybe stonecrest will start a new tradition of parades and invite villagers to participate! we could use the new gate stonecrest puts up for their residents to get to wamart!

rather than having a parade for each celebration in each of the 3 squares on the same day, the powers that be could consider sharing the parades between the squares? st pat's in one, mardi gras in another, octoberfest in another. each square could have it's own special event entertainment celebration with music, twirlers, cheer leaders, etc., but just one square would have the parade. or is that too simple a resolution? sheesh!

That is the way t is now. Only one parade per festival. The Italian Day parade was at SS. The Octoberfest parade was at LSL. No parades at Brownwood.

I am surprised the parades aren't happening......but I am one that seeing them once was fine.

For those who are new are not yet here, it is a VERY short parade. Just really around the square.

I am not sure where it begins and ends because I have always been on the square. It is very nice but not huge.

I enjoyed the ones I went to and we went to several just once... but I am NOT a fan of the seat saving. All new folks want to see the parades and of course the family and friends of the participants. It is fun to see "grown up" cheerleaders and twirlers and of course everyone loves to see the colors go by and the Irish, or Italian or German or patriotic costumes and decorated carts.. They set up small stands with food that ran out the times I was there. The food wasn't "wonderful".

It is a reason to gather and celebrate with friends in the warm sunshine and mark the special occasion. I still wonder WHY it will be discontinued. Perhaps because Brownwood isn't up to speed with businesses yet and there would be negative comments from the people south of 466A if a parade didn't happen there? That doesn't seem to be a good reason. I can't think of safety issues other than crowding.

Why do you think that it has been discontinued?

Another thing I haven't much interest in is Polo. I wonder if that will stop eventually. It always has seemed to me to be a special interest of the Morses rather than a sports event based on popularity. I sometimes like to tell off campus friends about it. It has a certain "snob" appeal. ;) How many retirement communities have a polo field?

Yes when I want my friends back home to think I'm a "snob" I tell them I'm going to polo and the country club for dinner, when I really want to "snob" it up I throw in a trip to the theater

my wife is friends of some of TV cheerleaders and they were told no parades starting 2013 some time ago.

Along with no more of the patriotic events.

Just put these changes on the list along side of celebrating new years on the squares which WAS fantastic.:grumpy: Outstanding way to do new years. Well attended does not describe the crowds and fun we had for 2 or 3 years when we first moved here. No reason ever given....just rumors about legal exposure and of course costs.

If one looks at the new venues for the tree lighting this year, now with Brownwood open. There is no more coordinated doing of the squares at the same time which USED to add a little bit of cohesive connection of residents for Christmas cheer. That is no more now with separate events.
I suspect additional logistics and extra cost are a big part of it.

And I would not be surprised in the special interest driven society we live in these days....there no doubt have been complaints of one kind or another about patriotic events, or parades or new years parties not lining up with some folks way of life or belief.

The above plus cost add up to eliminating events. The really sad part is that for all the good that TV developers do and their marketing and communicating expertise.....they do a 'P' poor job (really do not do at all) communicating 'stuff' like eliminating parades with not a word to the residents.

Yes we all understand it is not a democracy, they are the emporer et al....that does not make the poor communications of issues that impact residents....right.

My $7.29 (2 cents adjusted for inflation and the value of our dollar :D).

btk

I don't know about snob appeal, because I don't think we are snobs....

The polo grounds are truly beautiful as are the horses who participate...Vermont has lots of "horse shows" but not polo games (that I know of anyway). No matter where you drive in Vermont, you see horses......their tents, the equestriennes, etc........during the "season".

Our 3 older grandchildren LOVE HORSES. Our 18 month old grandaughter in Colorado LOVES HORSES and has had many pony rides of which I have the videos. Her mom was raised on a "ranch" in Oregon and is starting her kids off early..........

People who like horses are not all snobs. Horse farms in Vermont are kind of "earthy".....and down to earth.

The polo grounds area reminds us of Virginia and Kentucky.......it's beautiful.

My husband preferred that section of TV over all the new areas.....

Our daughter in law who has ridden horses since a small child, participating in "horse shows" all over the country......equestrienne, etc., LOVED THE POLO GROUNDS.........anyone coming from a rural state would also enjoy seeing the horses.

Most recently we watched IN SESSION (Court TV) about the trial and sentening of that Florida Polo mogul who drove drunk in his $200,000 Bently and ran a stop sign, pushing a young man's car into a canal, leaving him to drown....while the Polo guy went somewhere else to "buy time" and sober up. BUT not all people who like horses are RICH POLO CLUB OWNERS. They just love the beauty of the animal.

I thought our daughter in law might think that the horses were being "exploited" but she loved it. She's owned many of her own horses and is "into" animal rescue, including horses, dogs, etc.

It's a nice addition to The Villages.........to each his own.
When we'd make that turn from El Camino Real onto Buena Vista Blvd. and drive past the polo grounds, we always felt at home.....sans mountains. It had a country feel to it.......in a refined kind of way.

When our kids were young, all the little girls would have LOVED to have horseback riding lessons.......it's a rural thing.

Ilovetv already posted this above but apparently it was missed
 

This is from the Village Voice, NOVEMBER 2012

Read the very last two lines...Will holiday parades be continued at each square?

The Villages Voice

Very interesting....last two lines

Will holiday parades be continued at the town centers each year?

Yes, watch The Daily Sun for locations and details in advance of traditional holidays.

Hmmmmmmm.

I received a email yesterday they will discontinue them.

My take on that decision is they want the residents to step up and organize parades. My logic coms from back 10 years ago the holiday parades were second to none and the developer decided to cut the budget, and got the residents to step up, more golf carts etc. At that time, they reduced decorating the town squares by about 90% of what it was. These decisions are not what Harold Schwartz vision was for us.

I tried.

If we have 100,000 folks that live here and an additional 1/4 million in the close by areas surrounding us, then using those figures to have the majority participate in the parade or watching such, that would be approximately 175,000 in attendance to be at or more than 51%. If not, then the majority have spoken and democracy wins again.
As long as we can celebrate as groups someplace in The Villages, then we are being fairly treated (in my opinion). I would also venture to guess that for everyone that likes to see the streets blocked off for a parade, there are more that find it as an inconvenience.

Think of the logistics of having approximately 175,000 in attendance at a parade. Where would they all park? How far of a hike to stand on the curb or whatever for hours waiting for the parade to "line up" and begin.

We have a small town of 16,000 fulltime residents, surrounded by nothing. At the most, our parade would bloom into maybe 20,000 at the most (with visiting grandchildren, bands from other states, folks from other towns who do come over the mountain to see our parade.........)

Even with that amount, 20,000 folks compared to 175,000 souls......
Our town gets pretty crowded..........and latecomers have quite a walk "if" they can even find parking...........we remember some sweltering hot 95 degree afternoons when parade goers looked like they'd just about die trying to get back to wherever they parked their cars.......and these were young people. Trying to get into Friendlies for some ice cream for the kids is near impossible after a parade.

I can't even imagine 175,000 .....it would be a nightmare as far as parking and getting seats (probably non existent unless you drag your own chairs like we do).

Perhaps people should just celebrate whatever these holidays are with their own group of friends at a backyard barbecue??? No parade.

Never happen, they would run out of booze!

I have never seen huge crowds at any Villages' parades. Crowds yes, but there were other events that had much more draws from all over Central FL than the parades.

The Villages is Morses' Bubble though. Not sure how much we can do with getting the parades back. You would think that the IRS would see parades more as something a governmental entity does rather than what a family owned development stages. Just putting this in terms of the IRS bond mess.