Since the inaugural Charley Melvin Mad Bomber Run For Your Life four years ago, the number of activities at the event has grown, and so has the attendance.
This year, Thrive Allen County is adding the Parade of Lights.
Thrive organizers are encouraging everyone to join the festivities July 13 and 14. The idea is to create a float or take an existing float and add lights, program director Damaris Kunkler said.
Ideally, floats will stick to Thrive’s Charley Melvin-era theme, representing 1905, or to make decorations “like prisoners, dynamite looking or anything Charley Melvin,” Kunkler said.
Other floats will be accepted. The only mandatory element is that the float is lighted.
Ben Middleton, a primary participant in getting the Parade of Lights started, is optimistic.
“We want to do something different so the event doesn’t stay stagnant, that would just get boring,” Middleton said. “We don’t want to do the same thing each year.”
The Parade of Lights is not limited to floats. Kids are encouraged to decorate their bikes. Even walkers will be accepted as long as they are appropriately decorated with lights or glow-in-the-dark products.
Decorating a float, bike or person is not difficult and can be affordable, Kunkler said. There are numerous websites that offer inexpensive LED lights, lighted buttons and gloves, among other products. Glow sticks, necklaces and bracelets are available, too.
Buying as a group can also cut down the costs, since lights are less expensive when sold in bulk.
A few websites Kunkler suggests are www.lightgod.com, www.extremeglow.com and www.glowrus.com.
The race starts at 12:26 a.m. July 14, but the other events will begin at 4 p.m. July 13. For more information on how to join the Parade of Lights, call 365-8128, or visit the Thrive office 12 W. Jackson Ave., or visit their website www.madbomberrun.com.
