"Mom, get off your rocker ..."

... and enjoy the parade.

Grand Lake, Colorado, July 4, 1967. Enjoy the humor.

"Little Spot"

Demytė wins the annual "prettiest goat" pageant.

Holiday-Weekend Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, July 2, 2015. Go to town and watch the parade.

Beauty Pageant

Goat beauty pageant.

"Over the fifteen years that Putin has ruled Russia, the story of the Great Patriotic War has acquired new meanings and symbols. Stalin’s name and likeness have gradually been reintroduced into the story–and into the streets of Russian cities."

A Russian examines the symbolism of Victory Day.

See also here.

Victory Day

Former Soviet republics reject symbols that celebrate the seventieth anniversary of Victory Day.

ADDED: Enjoy some humor.

The red star resurfaces on Red Square . . .

. . . and children, wearing Soviet-era uniforms and carrying arms, participate in the festivities.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin defends the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and Lithuania's Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius pens a response.

ADDED: Full video of the parade here; the hammer and sickle are first visible at 4:53. Here's footage from the November 1, 1941 parade.

The Homecoming Float

Evanston, Illinois, October 1978. Mr. Irene's housemates prepare a float for the Homecoming Parade. "Bomaré" was the name Mr. Irene's friends used to designate their little group.

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The word "Bomaré" developed when one friend used it to describe people who "get stoned." The Easter Island figures became "Bomaré" mascots because they are ... stone heads. Mr. Irene (pictured here) had nothing to do with the name's origins or its iconography.

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The housemates march, wearing "Bomaré" heads, while Mr. Irene, on the float, sings to the melody of "Volare." (Were you expecting Dean Martin?)

Homecoming season nears.

Evanston, Illinois, October 1978. The squad marches down Sheridan Road.

The Baltic Way

The Baltic States today celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Baltic Way.

Here's Google's Doodle for the day.

ADDED: Video here and here.

Celebrate Cherries

Traverse City, Michigan, July 1961. We're watching the National Cherry Festival Parade.

“Normally it’s a kind of community organization where young Russians with a nationalist and religious orientation can go and participate in activities like you’d expect from the Boy Scouts – parades, fish fries, that sort of thing[.]”

The Cossack resurgence.

July 4

Grand Lake, Colorado, July 4, 1967. Catch up on Americana. (Don't miss The Monkees float).

Saturday Parade

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1951. That's Toronto Al's Mom. One of the things that delighted me about Toronto was the city's streetcars.

Thanks to Toronto Al for making this photo available to us.

Labor Day

Toronto Ontario, Canada, about 1950. This is the United Rubber Workers of America's float.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

The competition begins.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 27, 1951. Lithuanian-Canadians march in the opening of the North American sports tournament.

Flag Duty

Schweinfurt, Germany, about 1946 or 1947. Lithuanian scouts from the Displaced Persons camp march in a parade. My Dad is the fellow carrying the flag.

Flags

Isarhorn, Germany, August 2 to 14, 1948. Lithuanian scouts from the different branches gather before marching in a parade.

Assembling

Schweinfurt, Germany, about 1946 or 1947. Lithuanian scouts from the Displaced Persons camp line up for a parade.

Parade

Schweinfurt, Germany, about 1948. Lithuanian scouts from the Displaced Persons camp march. My Dad is the fellow carrying the flag.