It's important to give %100 because if ya don't use it...ya lose it!

A small band of us answered Portland's challenge to be a float in the Starlight parade.
Originally Olive and I wanted to do our civic duty and donate ourselves to the Rose Festival Clown Corps. They liked us so much they told us no! HAHAHA

we were already our own thing. He didn't want me to have to shave my beard and become someone else. They were very kind to us even though we got lots of confetti in the office.
He (king clown) told us the Starlight parade people were interested in us.

After a few emails we decided that Olive and Dingo would create a float made out of tall bikes. A week later I received marching orders in the mail. I have always wanted to get marching orders from central command!
Tall bikes love circling so my idea was to get some big bikes buzzing in circles while circus performers occupied the rings. The whole monstrosity would move from block to block for the entire two miles.

Jakob Grimm

I wanted a small crack team that could hold their own as well as be part of a unit...I also was looking for folks who didn't already have a brand on them other than the one they gave themselves. They would have to be good because there would be no time to practice.
Ari Lynn the stilt walker and Meg Russel were to be one circus act. They were doing the walking puppeteer and marionette act. They do that so well nobody EVER forgets them.
The other ring was The Mighty Blake Hicks making his 20" tron bike look like a glowing frikkin helicopter.
We became a turf gobbing, crowd pleasing moving two ring circus for over 250,000 cheering people.

The next day we were all injured or at least sore. I saw Grimm walking with a cane. There were some collisions and a few scrapes but thankfully not in front of the big lights that were Portlands TV watchers. We gave 100% for hours! That's a great feeling to get to the end in one piece.

Olive's Dad Steve C. is an accomplished parade  tall bike rider

I loved the camaraderie that comes from sharing an experience like that. Those people will be special to me forever because I know they go the distance.

The reason there are no photos of us in flight is because we couldn't take pics while playing this fast moving video game for keeps! In the weave you gotta know where all the other bikes are AND be ready for children and or drunks to dart out into the road.

Meg getting her magic trick on.

Blake Hicks and Meg Russel

Can ya let the lady put her face on without sticking a camera in her grill?

Dingo and Joe the Boom box chopper pilot

Liam M. Addams

About to start the parade...waiting for the go lights!

"What? You won't deliver a pizza passed the Civil war re-enactors? What do you think they are gonna car jack you with a musket ball?"

Before we started I must admit it looked more like an average night in Portland...but this day there were far too many marching bands for it to be typical evening Ptown.

I always play to win but one big motivation for giving 100% was that I wanted my children to see me. My hopes is that they see me kicking ass on tv and tell Mom "There's nothing wrong with that guy lady...let us see our Dad!".

Thank YOU Lippman co for donating the big balloon!

Liam and Dingo

The end...now it's only a five mile uphill ride home!

I'm bummed not to have any clear pics of Ari or Blake in action but I did have a camera strapped to my head so we will see if any of that came out.

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I was asked to be on the panel to judge the Portland Fire entertainer of the year.

Jaime Leona gave me a call and asked if i would judge and I jumped at the chance. She runs a tight ship and thats a good indicator that the show will go off well.

I took a bus to Dante's Inferno in Downtown Portland OR.

I got there to find that the MC was the lovely and very funny Curtis Carlyle. I have appreciated this man's presence on the planet for a long time.

The prize was a thousand bucks!!!Those folks cared a great deal. I tried to make it a point to do a good job judging and be fair and honest.

It was great to see 10 acts of varying prowess and originality.

Curtis told the audience that the judges will be paying attention to style, skill, execution and over all performance. This was a tough job but Noah Mickens was there, Leapin Louie and the winner from last year. Between us I'm sure the number of fire acts we have seen is in the thousands.

The question I pondered was "Would I have them in my show?" Unfortunatly most of the time the answer is no. This is a tough game and if you look like every fire spinner under the bridge then I am not gonna give it much weight. I liked the first act because he had lots of heart. It looked like he practiced his act at a construction job when the others were at lunch.

Downstairs (in the dressing room)they all collect for the competition. It's friendly but they are surly sizing each other up. Some are old friends, some strangers all are in the belly of the beast.

What a pleasure and an honor to be a part of this. And I'm also amazed that so many Portland folks turned out on a Sunday night.Trust me...they were glad they did.

It was great to have last years winner Hannah Robin) next to me so I could ask "Is that difficult?"

And the winner was the artist formally known as Andi Lou!!! Thats what ya get for having style, skill, production value, timing and of course pizazz!