At the beginning of June, I held the 5th Annual Bubble Parade here in Baltimore. We had 3.1 thousand people interested in the event on Facebook, which was an incredible turnout! I’m so amazed at how this event keeps growing, and how it continues to attract more and more people who genuinely want to play, have fun, and spread kindness.
This event originally started when I was an ambassador for the 100 Happy Days foundation. They looked for people around the world to run Bubble Parades for them in the late Spring, and I offered to do it in Baltimore. They kind of fell off the map, though, and I just kept doing it. It’s something I do on my own, for free. Although, I couldn’t do it without the help of Joe and my dad, especially as it continues to grow in number. We had over 400 people turn out the day of!
That’s something I keep reminding people of: clicking “interested” on an event page on Facebook might mean nothing to you and might be super convenient for your planning, but for event coordinators who are putting things on for free, spending money on supplies, and need to plan for people coming, the RSVPs actually do mean something to them. Obviously we can’t plan for extenuating circumstances, and I’ve made a career out of self-love/care, and would never say you need to come out if you need a sick/mental health day. But please try to be considerate of your RSVPs! I had to plan for 3.1K people, and only 400 people came out. I doubt that 2.5 thousand people were sick that day. 😉
That said, I really appreciate everyone who followed directions, brought their own bubble supplies, and even donated bubble supplies and/or money to the cause! It really helped things go smoothly and take stress off me!
We did have a few issues for the first time this year, like people complaining about there being “too many bubbles” which were unsafe for going in your eyes, there not being outdoor toilets, me not selling bubble products, me not having the right free items available (I give out hundreds of free bubble wands), that they didn’t feel safe crossing the street, that we got disconnected, etc. People couldn’t wait to get home to message me and complain, and we actually had people yell at me, Joe, and my dad in person. It was pretty ridiculous.
I make announcements and detailed Facebook event pages for this very reason. I can’t control everything. I’m one person and doing the best I can. I made an announcement addressing the issues people had, and got an overwhelming amount of messages from people who said they couldn’t believe that’s how people reacted. I wasn’t fishing, but it was really nice to hear that people actually did enjoy themselves after feeling kind of bombarded by a bit of negativity in an event that’s supposed to just be for fun and positivity! Thanks to everyone who stood up and told me about their personal experience. And again to everyone who was positive in general, followed the rules, read instructions, and went above and beyond to make this event amazing.
Despite the bit of negativity, this was hands down the best parade we’ve had. We had more people than ever before, more outrageous outfits, the best weather we’ve ever had, more stamina, awesome music, it was really just great. I’m so happy with it. I hope you enjoy these pictures. A couple professional photographers generously offered their services. You can check out their information at the bottom of the page. I also have more photos and will make an album on my Facebook page.
- Photos with the watermark are by Harry Bosk.
- Photos without the watermark are by Fred Bundick.
- Last group photo by Joe Dissolvo.
See past Bubble Parades: 1st Annual, 2nd Annual, 4th Annual.
