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Community Corner

PHOTOS: Friends of Fitzgerald Pumpkin Parade Float

Get a sneak preview of the parade float put together by Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve on Friday for today's Pumpkin Festival Parade.

docents with the Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve will be marching in today's costumed as jellyfish, octopus, and crabs. 

The group will be walking alongside their handmade float down the Main St. parade route.

Yesterday, docents gathered at a volunteer's house in Half Moon Bay to assemble the float comprised of a collection of marine life native to Fitzgerald, including jellyfish, a harbor seal, a sea star, a seabird and octopus.

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The float even has a sea anenome with a Halloween touch — a ghoulish hand sticking out of its mouth like the remnants of a tasty meal.

There might even be a mermaid joining the group.

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The sea star, jellyfish and mermaid were part of the Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve delegation which marched in the Half Moon Bay this year.

Docent Betty Stills came up with the idea to create some of the creatures on the float, such as the harbor seal stuffed with foam and painted on the outside.

We made rocks out of painted paper bags stuffed with newspaper.

Yesterday, we did a test run around the neighborhood to make sure the float wouldn't fall apart during the parade. When we took it out of the driveway in the hand attached to the sea anenome fell off. A pumpkin fell off as well.

We hotglued the pumpkin down and stapled, taped, velcroed and zip-tied other items.

Look for us today — we'll also be throwing salt water taffy out to the crowd.

Last year, the Friends of Fitzgerald tidepool docents took out about 4,000 children to the Reserve's tidepools. They're not just from the Bay Area - one group arrived on a bus from Nevada for the day and spent the day in San Francisco as well, then headed out back home that evening.

Friends of Fitzgerald will be training new volunteer docents in mid-January in a class than runs for two months. For more information, click here.

 

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