Horse Market Parade Continued: Groups
This post is about the groups that walked the Horse Market parade two Sundays ago, some of them bands, some of them representing certain periods in the history of Ludwigsburg, some coming from other towns.
They were all interesting to look at, and it never ceases to amaze me how much time and effort these people put into what they are doing in their free time. More often than not, the costumes are hand-made, and even just to get some of the materials together must cost a lot of money. Then they need to be taken care of, and then comes the "fun" bit - wearing it while walking 2 km in the blazing sun on a hot day like that! Or worse - in the rain, which can't be good for the costumes.
Anyway, it is remarkable, and I want to show my appreciation with this post.
One part of the parade was all about Ludwigsburg's international community with groups representing their countries of origin, ranging from Greece to Equador and quite a few in between.
The historical groups walked in a loose chronological order. Not each and every detail was strictly authentic - shoes were often chosen more for comfort than for their historic accuracy, and not every hairdo was exactly as it would have been at the time a certain costume was supposed to represent. But one should not be too picky about it; altogether, a pretty good idea was given of how folks were dressed through the ages.
This parade is magnificent. And you are right to praise the individuals and the groups who make it possible. It represents a great deal of resources and effort. I like very much that international groups living in Ludwigsburg have a chance to be part of this.
ReplyDeleteStrangely enough, some of the largest groups of immigrants living in Ludwigsburg are never seen at the parade: People of Turkish and Italian origin are by far the largest, but for some reason they are not interested in participating. They do participate in the town's big summer fête, though, selling food and drinks at their stalls.
DeleteWow, I am very much impressed by these costumes. I have never seen anything like this in a parade! The uniforms worn by the band members are equally impressive. So happy that you shared this with us!
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the Horse Market pictures I posted on my blog in the past years, you will see that some participants wear the same costume or uniform year after year. They obviously take very good care of them!
DeleteWow for the costumes and phew for the heat :) I've never seen such a long parade of different costumes. I think I'd have chosen any costume that included a parasol! - although on second though, those all seem to come with very narrow waists as well, so perhaps not... (lol)
ReplyDeleteSome of the ladies were definitely anything but narrow-waisted - the costumes came really in all shapes and sizes, just like the horses!
DeleteThe parade was indeed nearly twice as long as usual, due to it being a double jubilee.
Fascinating pictures! Thanks for sharing. Maybe next time you can join the parade instead of standing on the sidelines with a camera. I imagine you in a Roman centurion's costume banging a great big drum.
ReplyDeleteOh dear! I would not want to wear a costume that involves a helmet - it clashes with specs, I think. As for a great big drum, I suppose it'd do me back in...
DeleteI'd rather sit in a carriage or on a shire horse, regally waving to the crowd!
Like Lady Godiva? (Check Google!)
DeleteI don't need google for that, I know who she was! But my hair is not impressive enough to impersonate her, I'm afraid!
DeleteWe saw something a bit similar in Japan, the parade went on for ages and they had the most wonderful outfits. But I do think that there are 2 types of people, those who love dressing up and those like me who find it an ordeal. I am happy to watch, but not march.
ReplyDeleteBy the way you will see in your comments a pest who is trying to advertise viagra. I've just deleted a couple of comments from them and I have noticed them on several other blogs.
I'd love to participate (see my reply to Yorkshire Pudding's comment), but I am not ready to put in all the time and effort involved before - so I doubt it'll ever happen :-)
DeleteThe viagra seller's comment is gone, as you can see. It is better to classify them as spam first and then delete them, not delete straight away. That is supposed to help the spam filter "learn".
Haha! had to laugh about Lady Godiva, I think dressing up is a bit of an oxymoron in that case :) I didn't realise that about spam filters.
DeleteI don't know how well the spam filter learning really works, Jenny; I keep getting similar types of spam comments, so it may all be in vain, but I try!
DeleteI have to say that I am (again) blown away by the costumes that some people are prepared to wear come rain or shine. I enjoyed every one of them (leastways if there was one that I didn't enjoy it certainly didn't register).
ReplyDeleteI would not want to wear any of them on a hot day like the day of the parade, but I would love to try some of the dresses just for fun.
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