the Winged Balloon Stampede

me with a yellow balloon * photo by Lucy Capelle

Erin laughing with wings * photo by Lucy Capelle

a greeb balloon for the man on the bench * photo by Lucy Capelle

So proud of Ted with wings * photo by Lucy Capelle

It’s been at least a couple of years I think, since I first dreamed this up and wanted to do it.  But not everyone will voluntarily wear wings in public, so I decided to make it my 25th birthday event and they’d do it to humor me.  And you know what?  I don’t think anyone had a bad time.

We arrived in Portland, and Balloons on Broadway had already gotten there to deliver the huge bunch of 30 balloons [30 simply because I couldn't afford 50, not because I'm 30].  My fabulously awesome friends showed up to stampede with me, and I think I had about the most fun I’ve ever had at one of my parties.  It was right up there with my 16th (surprise) party.  I am so blessed to have such amazing friends and family.

Winged, we paraded around a little section of Belmont with the huge bunch of balloons.  We gave them away to little ones on the playground, the man on the bench, to the parents who “wanted one for the kids”.  We passed the shy guys who couldn’t look directly at us, we encountered three other birthday folk, the pink ones went to the little girls, the boys asked for orange and green, till all we had left was one yellow balloon to take home to my friend Robin who couldn’t come.

Hot and rosy-cheeked, a whole row of winged people ambushed Stumptown Coffee for iced drinks.

We all headed back to our house for BBQ, brownies & peppermint ice-cream (my favorite thing).  By the end of the night, we had crammed 25 people into our little home…27 counting the little ones that haven’t been born yet.  No, they’re not mine!

Thank-you to all of you, and a huge thanks to Lucy for capturing the day.  I can’t wait to see the rest of them!

P.S.  We are talking about making this an annual event, the second saturday of every April.  If you missed out this year, pencil it in for April 11th, 2009!  Next year we’d like to have even more people with even more balloons, and we’re going to stampede waterfront park.  It’s been suggested that wings not be required, but pretty much everything is better with wings in my opinion.