How often is it possible to lean out of a car window and yell at the top of your lungs without the state of your mental health being questioned? Only at a vehicle parade. Health conscious joggers, walkers and random passers-by looked on in shock as their usual quiet Saturday morning stroll down Marine Drive was disrupted by the sounds of cheering and engines revving up. Equipped with flags, paparé bands, face paint and all necessary trimmings over 750 Peterites hopped into the back of trucks and piled unceremoniously into the backs of cars, but not before some enthusiastic cheering and general goofing off.
For the third time, over a 100 vehicles set off on the newly established annual Peterite Vehicle Parade which took the streets from Marine Drive Wellawatte to the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium.
Event organizers Lashan Ranasinghe and Shanaka Gunasekara who once again pooled their resources in rounding up the participants of the parade, look back on this year’s parade which took place on March 12, with satisfaction as the best of the three parades held so far. “The way we see it,” says Lashan, “it serves as a huge boost for all Peterites. And the morale boost does not end with the vehicle parade.”
While the batch of 2007 has been credited with establishing this tradition, the organizers hope that the success of the parade will draw more batches of Peterites together to continue the tradition. To help the cause along, things were done a little differently this time. “We appointed batch ambassadors for each of the past senior and junior batches this year, in order to make sure that the message would reach everyone on time.”
The result was that once again there was a significant increase in numbers, and aside from the rallying support for the school cricket team and declaring loyalty t their school, the parade served as a fun reunion for Peterites of many ages.
“When comparing this parade to the better known Thomian Vehicle Parade, there is a big difference. The Thomian parade is far older and as a result is much larger in terms of participation. Our parade is a newer venture and we were inspired by the success of that parade,” comments Lashan.
“And at the end of the day what was important was that while showing support, everyone had an awesome time and I’m sure took away some great memories of the day. We are all very thankful to the O.I.C. of Bambalapitiya for giving us support and Sun FM for their kind participation, and all the Peterites who were part of the parade.”
In the aftermath of the cricket season, the Peterites agree that while victory at the match would have been great, it was not the most important thing. For them the best part of the experience was the feeling of being part of one united, madcap family cheering its favourite team on. “The best part of the day for me was knowing my dad, my brother and myself were part of the parade together,” recalls Lashan. |
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