Tag Archives: DooDah Parade

Lame with a Dramatic Gesture!

Posted on September 6, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

So what is it now, six days since my last post, which was not a great post, although I was rather fond of the title.  It is now Lame Post Friday, and I feel terrible for not posting regularly.  I’ll be honest:  my depression is kicking my butt and I need to find new ways of combating it.  For now I will make a silly blog post.  For the future, I will seek out more better things to blog about (“more better” being the technical term).

Nice lunge, Tucker!

I looked for a silly picture to pep things up and found this rehearsal shot from Love’s Labour’s Lost, presented by Little Falls Theatre Company (LiFT) in 2022.  Oh, I miss summer Shakespeare!

I’ll wave my magic want and bring Shakespeare back!

Here is another summer memory:  Ilion Little Theatre (ILT) at the DooDah Parade in 2018.  ILT has not participated in recent years, which I find disappointing.  Perhaps I can be a mover and shaker in getting us involved next year.  Come to think of it, moving and shaking might help alleviate depression.

I love the photobomb!

I guess this turns out to be a theatre-themed post.  What a surprise, since Drama is my Life (said with a dramatic gesture)!  This, regular readers may recognize (if I still have any), is a shot from Four Old Broads on the High Seas, the play I was in with Players of Utica in July.  You know, thinking of my theatre friends makes me feel a little better.

So this is my silly post, so I can still say I am a blogger.  Will I ever be able to say I am a daily blogger again?  For the answer to that and other burning questions (actually some of my questions are only lukewarm), stay tuned to Mohawk Valley Girl!

 

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I Did the DooDah

Posted on July 22, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had a real Mohawk Valley Adventure Friday when I attended the Ilion DooDah Parade.  The Parade is a major event of Ilion Days, which ran from July 12 through 20 this year.  I was there to cover the event for Sentinel Media (regular readers may remember that is my part-time writing gig), but I ended up riding on a float, so I participated as well.  I took a number of good pictures, so I may have more than one DooDah post.

Cool car, nice fellow!

This was the Grand Marshall of the parade, Yasushi Takase. He was an American Field Service (AFS) exchange student his senior year in Ilion in 1975, and returned for the 50th reunion.   I got his picture after the parade, so it was good I rode on a float till the end.

The view from the front.

You can’t read it very well, but it is the post number from the Herkimer American Legion. I boldly asked if I could ride with them, and they graciously allowed me.

Other Legions were represented as well.

It was the Ilion Legion, however, who gave me a bottle of water, which I sorely needed by then. I had been walking up and down in the hot sun, taking pictures, and talking to people who were lining up for the parade.

I didn’t think the Baby Boomers had ever left.

I wondered if I should have asked to ride with this group, since I am technically a boomer.  Really the tail-end of boomerdom.  I guess I fit in better with the Legion, being as I am a Veteran.

The most colorful group!

What I really should be is a Happy Hagg! I once asked if I could join them, and they were very welcoming.  I just need to learn the dance, figure out a costume, and go to some of their practices.

Look how cute they are!

This was our view off the back of the Legion float (it was a trailer with chairs on it, really).  I’d like to have one of those sunflower hats.

I am afraid this has not been a very coherent account of my evening at the parade.  Full disclosure:  I am back from rehearsal for the play I am in (you may have read some of my blog posts about it) and I am very tired.  However, I am approaching 400 words.  I say OK.  Happy Monday, everyone!

 

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Happy Lame Weekend!

Posted on July 19, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was just about to do something useful when I remembered, I never made my Lame Post Friday blog post!  OK, I probably wasn’t really about to do anything particularly useful.  Who is the arbiter of what is useful anyways?  Not me! (Ooh, I just flashed on when I was a kid, and you all yelled, “Not It!” then argued about who actually said it last and had to be It) (And how about, “Last one there’s a rotten egg, first one has to eat it!”)

So much for my parenthetical stroll down Memory Lane.  Save it for Throwback Thursday, me!  Quick, throw in a picture, because I obviously do not have much of substance to say.

See me in the back, looking like the Statue of Liberty? That was not my intention.

Here is a picture from July 2019, when I participated in the DooDah Parade in Ilion, NY with Ilion Little Theatre (ILT).  ILT did not participate in this year’s DooDah Parade, which was last night, but I was there covering the event for Sentinel Media. That is one reason I did not make my blog post yesterday.  I may make a whole blog post about that (Preview of Coming Attractions), but right now my phone is across the room charging, so I can’t transfer pictures to WordPress (First World Problems).

Who me? Drink wine?

This is a completely unrelated picture.  I include it  because it’s Saturday.  I may, in fact, have a glass of wine.  I hope you will feel free to indulge in whatever you may like and have a wonderful weekend.

 

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What Am I Supposed To Be?

Posted on October 27, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Prior to 5 a.m. and prior to work is not the appropriate time to make a Lame Post Friday post.  I’m just saying.  However, I am sitting here, grateful for my first cup of coffee, and determined to make a blog post so it will be at least three days in a row.  Yesterday in my title I threatened to make this blog All Lights, Camera, Murder! All The Time, but I am not yet ready to actually do so.  For one reason, I neglected to take any pictures at last night’s rehearsal.  It was not really all that memorable.  Speaking of memorable, I need to get to work learning my lines.

 

It’s hard to get a shot of the whole band.

My dilemma today is what to wear tonight.  My friend Kim and I plan to go to a Halloween Party at Ilion Elks Lodge, featuring our favorite band, The Posers.  That shot is from an evening they played there last January.

I usually have little problem coming up with a costume.  I have a large collection of costumes and costume pieces from previous Halloweens and plays I was in, in addition to a lot of stuff I have picked up along the way, just waiting for the opportunity to use them.  Tonight, however, the temperature is supposed to be unseasonably warm.  The Elks Club, with all the people sure to attend the party, will probably be steaming.  Even if not too bad, once we start boogying down to the great sounds of The Posers, I will no doubt begin to sweat.  The black velvet gown and red-lined cloak, which is my go-to costume as a common or garden ghoul, will not be that comfortable.

If only I had a long enough blond wig, I could go as Lady Godiva (I just said that with the devilish intention of giving some of you an unfortunate mental image) (you know who you are).  I suppose I could wear what I wore to the DooDah Parade some years ago.  As I recall, I mentioned in a previous blog post that I put that outfit together merely with the intention of keeping cool.

Bonus! I could wear my tiara!

My problem with that is, people would ask me what I was supposed to be, and I do not know what I could tell them.  On a float in a parade (I always insist on riding in the Doodah Parade), viewers are forced to draw their own conclusions.  Being me, of course, I suppose I could make something up.  So my assignment for today is (1) figure out what I am supposed to be in the above get-up or (2) come up with something else.

In the meantime, I have (pre-1) come up with a respectable-length blog post for the third day in a row.  I like to celebrate every small win.

 

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What to Wear, What to Wear, What to Wear?

Posted on October 15, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yes, hello, I am making my late Saturday post on Sunday morning.  I woke feeling down but with less of a headache than I had yesterday, so I have that going for me.  I spent part of yesterday walking around Herkimer, trying to assuage my loneliness, with some success.  I will write a blog post about that later, I hope.  This is in the nature of a place holder, so I can continue to pretend I am a daily blogger.

A great place to go!

If I muster enough energy, I may go to the last session of Brookwood Market.  It is handy walking distance from my house, so I can get some needed exercise. Additionally, they are doing some Halloweeny stuff.  I can put on a costume.  I think I have a few laying around here somewhere.

I thought I looked good. But perhaps I flattered myself.

Here is me in a costume I threw together for the Ilion Days Doodah Parade in July 2019, just to show you what I can do off the top of my head.  My goal at the time was to keep cool in the heat, so I threw some light shawls over a camisole and bicycle shorts, topping it off with my beloved tiara (I only had one back then).

I put a spell on you!

Here is a costume I took a little more trouble with, even going to far as to make myself a wand out of a knitting needle, although it is not shown in the picture.  I was a Silly Wizard for a March of Dimes event.  The kids there were not impressed, but I had fun.

I guess for a place holder, this turned out to be a blog about me in costume.  We’ll see if I actually get into one today.  I will try to get a picture for the blog, but I am no had at selfies.

 

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This Old Lame

Posted on August 12, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am attempting to make my Lame Post Friday post on Friday, but no promises as to whether I will hit Publish before Saturday morning.  I am tired, and my eyes are acting funny.  I can’t seem to focus up close or even in the middle distance.  Usually when this happens, I find I have put on the wrong glasses.  Operator Error is kind of a theme in my life.  However, I checked my glasses at least three times; they are a reading pair.

I seem to be asking my body, “What the Hell?” a lot these days.  Earlier today, as I creaked out of my chair after sitting for less than a half hour for lunch, I preceded that question with, “I am 59, not 112!”

This is how old I feel, only not as well dressed.

I interrupt my whining with a picture.  This is me and my friend Jim in a scene from Morning’s at Seven, a play we did at Ilion Little Theatre a few years ago.  I was the oldest sister.

Aging like fine wine?

A friend gave me a plaque that said, “I’m not old, I’m vintage!”  I confess I do not pay too much attention to the vintage of the wine I drink, but I love vintage automobiles.   Although I usually call them classic cars.  Yeah, that’s me:  classic.

I suppose I am not that sleek, but one does what one can.

This car was in the Ilion Days Doodah Parade last year.   I just thought it would be apropos to include a picture of a vintage car.

My foolishness has gotten me over 250 words.  Phew!  We shall see what sort of a post I can come up with for Saturday.  Scattered? Slacker?  A little suspense adds interest to my weekend.

 

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Guess Who Made Her Blog Post Late? Doodah! Doodah!

Posted on July 26, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday was a true Blogger’s Sick Day as I failed to post at all.  Now it is early Wednesday morning, and I am gratefully sipping coffee and wondering what I can blather on about for 200 words and how quickly I can do it.

A fun bunch.

This is a picture of members of Young Actors Workshop (YAW) about to March with Ilion Little Theatre (ILT) in the Ilion Days Doodah Parade last year. This year ILT was too busy with plans for their 100th Season (preview of coming attractions). Some members of YAW were quite disappointed.  I personally was on my way to Liverpool, NY that evening.

In the middle of typing that last paragraph (pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet,  I add as usual), my coffee went down my Sunday throat, as my grandmother used to say.  What a horrible feeling!  I paused to cough and gasp and now share the information with you in a petty bid for sympathy.  Also, I confess, to up my word count.

More colorful that year.

And here is the gang from 2019.  I confess to feeling a little melancholy this year as I drove by lawn chairs set out Friday afternoon in anticipation of the parade.  However, it is usually too long in the sun for me.  My husband used to accuse me of being an Addams for my love of gloomy days.  I took that as a compliment.

 

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Tempest, Jail, and Late Blog Post, Doodah! Doodah!

Posted on July 14, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday I finished making my Wednesday blog post Thursday morning (I had at least started it Wednesday night) and wondered if anyone would notice if I did not mention it.  Today (Friday) I thought I would mention that I am making Thursday’s blog post late (I did not even start it on the day) and try to pass it off as a Non-Sequitur Thursday Post.  So far so good.

“I don’t always make my blog posts late, but when I do I like to be Shakespearean.”

As I often do, I throw in a picture to pep things up.  This is my friend, Tucker, looking like The Most Interesting Man in the World (are they still running those ads?).  This was before a performance of The Tempest by LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company.  Now I have a Throwback Thursday Post.  Cool.

Is that mistletoe he’s standing under?

Rather than make it a pure theatre throw back, I add a picture of my late, dearly missed husband Steve posing at Herkimer’s Historic 1834 Jail.  We often walked by Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners.  They say it is haunted, but we never saw a ghost.  That would have been cool.

Who me? Be silly?

I thought I would end with a picture of me.  Here I am about to participate in the Ilion Days Doodah Parade with Ilion Little Theatre.  This year’s Ilion Days begin this weekend, but ILT is not participating in the Doodah Parade.

So this nonsense has me approaching 250 words.  Score!  If only I could think of a catchy headline.

 

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I Doodah Didn’t Make a Post

Posted on July 23, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh DEAR!  Look how late I am making my Lame Post Friday post!   How did it get to be ten o’clock on a Saturday!  I know, the usual way.

In my defense, last night I participated in the Doodah Parade, part of the Ilion Days festivities.  I rode on the float for Ilion Little Theatre.  It was a fun time, but hot and tiring.  Just imagine if I would have walked!

I couldn’t decide which photo to use so include both.  These are this year’s participants of YAW, Young Actors Workshop.  For more information on that, you can go to It’s Facebook page or website, http://www.ilionlittletheatre.org.

I did not take a picture of me in my silly outfit.  Everybody else was in Western wear, because the theme of the parade was Doodah Rides Again.  I do not own anything appropriate except for a pair of cowboy boots my sister Vicki gave me.  It was so hot, I considered wearing the boots and nothing else, but, you know, sunburn.  Then my friend Kim (who originally wanted to go as Lady Godiva) pointed out that witches ride brooms.  I threw together an outfit that did not include black. I really should have taken a picture.

So we’ll call this a Post About Why I Didn’t Make a Post Yesterday, and I will attempt to make my Saturday post while it is still Saturday.  But no promises.

 

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Murder to Leading to Silly… I Love Theatre!

Posted on September 25, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

What’s in the box?

For this week’s Throwback Thursday Post,  I looked in my Media Library at September 2019.  I was gearing up for Fabulous and Fatal,  the interactive murder mystery we presented to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society last October.  The box shown was an important prop in the story.

It was given to me by the cast of Leading Ladies, the play I directed for Ilion Little Theatre in 2016.

One of my all-time favorite casts.

Drawing your attention to the costume worn by the “lady” on your far right, I just mention that it is a costume piece I have owned many years and used many times.

Definitely more silly than scary.

I wore the caftan to be a silly wizard for an event for the March of Dimes in May 2018.

I was probably the silliest.

Once again, I was associated with some wonderful people.  This is the thing when you go to do anything theatrical:  theatre people are awesome!

Another appearance of the silly wizard!

I wore the caftan again that year for the Doodah Parade for Ilion Days.  I rode on the float for Ilion Little Theatre.

More fun theatre people!

As the song says, there’s no people like show people!  I hope soon I will be able to make more theatre memories,  if for no other reason than that I will need something to throw back to in 2021!

 

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