I was so confused when I kept seeing references about town, and even more confused when I found out that Chica got a whole day off school for it. And then the confusion compounded yet again, when I couldn’t pinpoint a specific date for this seemingly ongoing event.
I mean...say what??
Come to find out, Fiesta is a ten-day celebration (or “season,” as one Feista song—because, yes, there are songs—puts it). And it’s about celebrating Texas’ freedom, and those who died to ensure it.
Not only did Chica have a class party and lots o’ school festivities, she also had a school-wide parade that required her to build a float from a shoe-box. With a theme of her choosing.
We were sort of flying blind as we built it, since we were Fiesta novices, but we made up for it with enthusiasm. And Chicklet was a willing float-building sidekick. :)
Chica was determined to use some of her beloved stuffed animals at part of her float, so we came up with a safari theme, and when I located some super-sparkly paper to wrap around our shoe box, it officially became...“Sparkly Safari.”
We were supposed to ensure that the float could be pulled along by a string, but there was the slight challenge of finding or crafting some wheels, ha. The best I could come up with was attaching it to Chicklet’s skate board, hehe.
It worked pretty well for the school parade the following morning, but witnessing the event gave me a ton of hacks for next year—like using Hot Wheels cars in each corner of the box, or sticking the box upside down on top of a truck or other play vehicle. Nice creativity. :)
Chica’s school has two large, connected gyms, and there was a peremiter established to create a parade route. Cut to the Fiesta song playing on a loop and half and hour of every kiddo marching through with their happy creation, and a good time was had by all.
Honestly, it was kind of amazing to see students and staff proudly donning ponchos and sombreros and gorgeous flower crowns and embroidered dresses of vibrant colors. I even saw several young boys with mustaches painted on by a parent. So many symbols that too often come with negative, stereotypical connotations were instead displayed and honored with joyful celebration.
Chicklet and Little Man were so enamored with all the creative floats, and it was insane to think that just next year, I’ll have not one, but two, kiddos participating!
Such a wild and unexpected surprise, on the whole. We were on a major learning curve this go-round, but I imagine we’ll take total advantage of so many festive things this celebration has to offer next year.
:)
Such a wild and unexpected surprise, on the whole. We were on a major learning curve this go-round, but I imagine we’ll take total advantage of so many festive things this celebration has to offer next year.
:)
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