Print

Costume Workshops For Hooker Day Parade Are Scheduled

By JENNA CARLESSO

October 06, 2011

HARTFORD —— Hoping to persuade more people to don outlandish costumes and march through downtown, organizers of the annual Hooker Day Parade are offering free workshops to help create the zany attire that is the parade's hallmark.

The eclectic, high-spirited celebration is scheduled for Oct. 22 from 2 to 3 p.m.

Costume workshops will be held Friday and Saturday.One of the workshops, "Wearable Art," focuses on costumes and masks. It will be led by Anne Cubberly and run from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday on the second floor of 242 Trumbull St.

The second workshop, "Art Bike (Art Trike or Art Wagon)," will teach participants how to dress up their bicycles, tricycles and wagons for the parade. It will be led by Jeanne Manzelli from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, also on the second floor of 242 Trumbull Street.

The workshops are open to people of all ages, but those younger than 18 must be accompanied by an adult. All materials for costumes and bicycle decorations are free and provided at the workshops. The workshops were made possible by a grant from the Greater Hartford Arts Council, organizers said.

Thirty-two units, with 10 to 20 people per unit, have already signed up to take part in the parade, said Jordan Polon, director of marketing for the Hartford Business Improvement District, which is organizing the event.

Last year's parade drew roughly 600 to 700 people, Polon said.

For the second year in a row, Mayor Pedro Segarra will march dressed as Thomas Hooker, the city's founder. Several neighborhood groups, representatives from city corporations and musical groups also will participate.

Former Mayor Mike Peters organized the first Hooker Day parade in the early 1990s as a tribute to Hooker, a Puritan minister who founded Hartford in 1636. The parade was discontinued in 2001, but was revived by the Hartford Business Improvement District in 2008.

The parade, which spans more than half a mile, will begin at the intersection of High and Allyn streets, move east on Allyn Street, north on Ann Street, east on Church Street, south on Trumbull Street, west on Pearl Street and north on Ann Street before ending back on Allyn Street.

In case of rain, it will be rescheduled for Oct. 23 at 2 p.m.