THE PIG FLIES AGAIN

                  

   God must love the Flying Pig Parade. She held back the rain long enough for us to amaze a crowd of thousands. January 3rd's third annual downtown procession was one to remember. Let me tell you why.

Georg, Stan, and Glenn, ready to rock.

   It started with our emcees, Gregg and Stan, making a few introductions that include Georg Suzuki.  Every year she yodels a bombastic peace chant that wakes us up.

   

 

 

   Nearby stood Ward Shelley ready to lower his huge winged swine with a "10, 9, 8..." countdown in front of  two thousand  fans.

 

 

 

    Gregg led the countdown. When the pink pig hit the pavement, "Swine On The Wing" was off and running.

   

 

 

 

 

   Bobby and his grandchildren led the procession once more with their bright banner and a cardboard sign. 

   Stan and Gregg did a terrific job of announcing each entry. 

 

 

 

    

 

Most marchers are a part of one group. My buddy, Ward, managed to be in four of them.  After he dropped his pig he picked up a drum and joined our first band, the  "Bloco GNV Samba Saints".  In the distance you can see -up above- the exuberant Griffin Wulf, a sight to behold on long, stilted legs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Down below a young crowd took it all in.

 

   Some saw things they'd never seen before. It was not a homecoming parade, or anything like a Disney experience. 

 

 

  Surrounding Griffin were puppeteers with
characters as small as she was tall.

 

 

   Artist Iver Thue was Big Pig who seemed to be everywhere at once.

 

 

 

 

The parade had sixty entries. 

Some had 26 members  while others performed individually.

 

   This year's Grand Marshal was Joe Courter. He has published "The Gainesville Iguana" newspaper for forty years.  Every month Generous Joe gives us

 

THANK YOU, JOE!

 

all the news we need.

 

     Like Joe, Jill Dumas' clown band is pure Gainesville. Jill has led her colorful merrymakers in processions for years. 

 

    Each clown is a walking work of art. The "Freak Island Musical Sideshow" is so good we insisted that they go around twice.

JILL LEADING HER CREW

  

   We all know whatever courage Marco Rubio once had ended when he jumped on the Trump train. That's when he lost his spine. 

A  pig-nosed Gainesville resident recently found it and shared it with the audience.

   

 

 Later it was snatched by a hungry beagle.

Scott Camil leading his VFP troops

    Our parade promotes many social issues like solving problems without violence.  This is why
we have a local chapter of "Veterans For Peace", They march with us every year.W

Who do we bomb next...Canada, Cuba. or is terrorizing Minneapolis enough for now?

   "Free Palestine" was sponsored by a similar group, Jewish Voices For Peace. I saw the parade's future in this young, enthusiastic group.

G

GRANDMOTHER EARTH ROUNDING THE CORNER

     

LYNX'S BANNED WAGON.    

    Following Free Palestine was "Free Banned Books" sponsored by Main Street's Lynx Bookstore.  Lauren and her family passed out hundreds of them. 

 Behind them were friends of ours wearing a variety of banned books.

 

    People attended in huge numbers standing along the streets, looking down from balconies, and seated on the Hippodrome Theater steps.

    Everyone of them wanted to see the Epstein Files so I had my friend, Davy Dots, reveal them in the parade. 

 

 

     After seeing them many wondered why Trump had kidnapped a president and threatened to invade Greenland so we'd forget they existed.

        

                 WE WON'T FORGET 

 

    Neither will New York City's mayor, Zohran Mamdani. I knew his new job might be keeping him busy but still wanted him in "The Pig".

    I called his office and was told he was unavailable. Fortunately City Commissioner Bryan Eastman -who looks a bit like Zohran-  agreed to take his place.  

The City Commissioner Doin' the Zohran Shuffle

 

 

        The Smooth Flava Line Dancers are always a hit.  You can go to Bo Diddley Plaza on any Thursday afternoon and they'll show you how its done.

 

 

    Gainesville's Sierra Club was out in full force reminding us that we must continue the fight for control our city's "GRU" utilities.  They seemed unaware that they were being chased by a pack of dinosaurs.

The club had a second group protesting the latest Florida bear hunt. They were supporting the

BEARS, STILL UNAWARE, OF THE GAGGLE OF TYRANOSAURUS REXES BEHIND THEM

 Hot on their trail were the Stars of the Show, THE DANCIN' DINOSAURS! They came all the way from Melrose, Florida, to twerk for masses.

And twerk they did!

The fans' favorite boogied to "Dancin' In The Street" and "Crocodile Rock" with abandon. Our poster featuring them sold out in 27 seconds.

 

 

 

 

In Melrose every mother prays her child will grow up to be worthy of this local reptilian dance troupe.  

    If that doesn't work out they are always welcome to join the group that followed, "AMFIFA", Amphibians Against Fascists.

We thank Len Cohen for putting his group together.  He's the Kermit on the left.

 

   All of our parade's frogs, dinosaurs, and humans got to enjoy great live music from our

BANDS that included 

momma trish vs. godzilla

 

Eddie's group, LOS BROCHACHOS

 

And Russ's (who performed on piggyback) band, "YALLWEIRD" 

 

   This little quartet ("HelloReco") had had their own Brazilian beat ( and, Ward in his third incarnation).

   After the orange dinos passed we had actual people dancing like the
"Greenwood Morris Dancers". 

This  lively group, 

They'll teach you to dance any Wednesday night.

 

and the BEST LITTLE ROCK HORROR PICTURE SHOW troupe in Gainesville (we had three this last year).  We did the Time Warp again!

 

                

                   -i n t e r m i s s i o n-

    Are you exhausted from reading this?  It is a lot, my fingers hurt from tapping the keys.

    You may know this was my last parade.  After producing 33 of 'em I'm calling it quits. Someone will probably make the next one happen. If they do I'll be in it. 

     I dive deep into these zany events. This being my final production I wanted to put it all in writing.  

          WARNING:  I'm only half done. 

                  ________________ 

    I'm amazed by the hard work put in by some groups like the one representing our historic Duckpond neighborhood. They spent weekends making waterfowl, signs, and duck calls for the  WACKY QUACKERS.  Their fearless leader, David Goboff, showed them the way.

    Imagine having the "monsters under the bed" nightmare as an adult. Those monsters could very well be Trump's cabinet. The worst possible are people running our country. 

Michael Shields awakened to this too real nightmare in our parade. 

 

   I was proud to see Maple and Susan standing up for a woman's right to control her own body.

   They offered free vasectomies to all of the men in the audience who voted to end abortion rights in Florida two years ago.

 

David, my retired UF math professor neighbor, 

knows something about Greek mathematicians. 

 

 

     Sadly, we have a president whose idea of hurricane relief is tossing paper towels to storm victims. He made an appearance to the chagrin of the audience.

 

 

   My softball buddies, Dave and Steve, did their best to protect him.  He was only attacked twice, once by a red-clad clown and later, by Super Pig. 

Dave and Steve protecting comedian, Tom Miller

 

 

 

   You really can't have a decent Gainesville parade without a dancing purple lion. 

       This one, powered by the two UF students inside, delighted everyone.

 

 

  Gainesville's Colombian folk dancers are also a crowd favorite.

 

     One of my least favorite things is the new policy at Florida's 900 Public supermarkets. They now allow their customers to carry guns into their stores. 

    To mark this sad decision Rhonda did some shopping -with her AK-47- "where shooting is a pleasure". 

 

   

    Her husband, Bill Prouty, followed with his "I'm The Original Big Beautiful Bill" sign. 

 

   The United Church of Gainesville jumped into the fray with whistles in hand.

EXPOSING CORRUPTION AND ICE AGENTS WHILE HAVING A GOOD TIME

 

     Another group of UCG'ers followed wearing smart jail jumpsuits, "Future Fashions of the White House Cabinet".  Pete Hegseth (hard to see here) carried a bottle of scotch.

I don't think you'd see that in our other holiday parade. 

 

    Two months ago as I attended garden party one of the dancing dinosaurs asked if I needed anything for the parade. I told her, "Congress is doing nothing to reign in our deranged president. They need a huge spine. Can you get me one?"   

They happily led me to a Melrose artist who made me a fourteen-footer. 

 

 

 

               Moments like that are magical.

 

 

   Do you remember Mrs.Roper from Three's Company? She's more popular than ever with her big hair and psychedelic mu-mu's.  We had a bunch of 'em on our procession!

 

   Who doesn't love a parade with its own grave diggers chanting, "Hey hey ho ho, We dig the hole and in you go!"?  

  The Society of the Pick & Spade has marched with us from the beginning carrying their shovels, woven casket, and "Mr. Bones".  We can thank Jack K. for organizing them.

T

THEY DO THE DIGGING AT GAINESVILLE'S  PRAIRIE CREEK GREEN CEMETERY.

 

 

Giant puppets are a big part of the show and we had many.

Lee Malis brought his pirate and friends to wave the arms.

 

 

Our president has made it clear that he wants to be a king. Most agree that "King Trump" is a horrible idea and some of them joined us on January 3d.

Thank you Kirk for carrying the guy wearing the Burger King crown.

The next Gainesville No Kings rally will take place next month.

While we're disgusted by the Orange Menace, we are thrilled to have Pope Leo as an outstanding world leader. Kind and compassionate, he is everything that Trump is not. His fan club agreed.

THANK YOU, EDO, FOR  MARCHING INSIDE THE POPE. YOU GUYS WERE GREAT!

Don't listen to our governor, being "woke" is a good thing.

 

Doesn't it seem strange that people spend half  their lives staring at screens?  THE CELL PHONE ZOMBIES did nothing else.

 

 

They stumbled through the entire parade unaware that they were in one.

 

 

 

 I don't know who took this photo but it captured the spirit of the whole affair. Many of the older folks told me,"I haven't seen something like this in fifty years!"

 

 

 

Florida's governor keeps coming up with new ways to discriminate against Floridians and limit free speech. First you could not mentioned global warming then he moved on to  tell us to "Don't say gay".

We want to forget about the angry Tallahassee tyrant. We say,

 

QUEEN ALEXANDRA MADE QUITE A STATEMENT

 

 

 

Politicians make lousy educators. Both our governor and the president are doing their best to destroy public schools and free speech.

 Gary was our "Silenced Professor"   standing up for both of these and and all First Amendment rights.

    Destroying democracy is what it's all about and it starts with making it harder to vote. 

 

    This group, "LET THE PEOPLE VOTE" featured a ballot box with red legs (Ward was inside for his fourth appearance).

 

   Every fifty-feet a half dozen voters would approach it to cast their ballots. Once deposited, the box would toss them out and run away.

 

 

 

 

   Our procession had two bee groups this year. "Bee City USA" stressed the importance of bees in keeping plants pollinated. 

 

 

 

"Bee Hive" stressed the importance of coming up with good "bee" jokes like,

and

The Queen Bee (hive by Ward)

   The fool in the White House is thrilled every time someone gives him an award he didn't earn.  "Peace Prizes For Grifters" gave out similar awards to his entire cabinet.

The Pig doesn't allow everyone to march.

You have to be colorful and entertaining with one exception for kids. They only have to be cute and they always are. 

 

 

 

Amelia says, "Art Not Hate".

Sugarhill is a historic neighborhood in Southwest Gainesville.

 

For some the parade was too much. 

 

For the first time we had a real marching band in our procession, "Porkestra 352". They were perfect, a group of musical friends in pink coming together to have some fun.

Finally this story is winding down. The last group in our holiday parade is always "Daddy Santa and the Mrs.Claus"  Turbado and Teri have a sign that says.

       "Don't bother us we're on vacation". 

 

When they reached the end they stood up, stretched, and headed back to the North Pole.

  The rest of us headed over to our post-parade party, "Bo Diddley's Birthday Bash", which featured the Show Time Band

 

 

and a delicious decorated  cake. We sang "Happy Birthday" to the local legend who would have been 97 if he were still with us.

 

   What a day it was.  I couldn't imagine ending my

parade career on a happier note.

 

    I gratefully thank my wife, Francesca, Ward, Kim, Gregg, Stan, Kevin, Nigel, Eve, Shirley, Rhonda, John, Heidi, Ed, Bill, Shelby, Michael and all the other volunteers who pitched in to make Pig III happen.

   Parades aren't cheap. Let's not forget the grant organizations and donors who helped pay the many expenses. 

   As they say, "It takes a village to fly a pig".  

 

   I expect it'll fly again a year from now. While someone else runs the show I'll be dancin' with the dinosaurs.

 

-Glenn Terry,

  Founder of the Flying Pig Parade             January 24, 2026
                   __________________

SEEKING SALTED WATER

        SEEKING  SALTED WATER

     Yesterday we woke up wanting to see big water.  In Gainesville your can head east or west and in a little more than an hour be fishing for grouper.

      We opted to head west to Cedar Key, North Florida's version of Key West. Yes, it's been beat up recently by two hurricanes but we heard it was delightful again. Francesca and I spent the day there and had a great time.

      

    There's one main street just four-blocks long.  We had our Black Friday shopping experience there.  I LOVED the quirky art we found in the Artist Guild Gallery.

   The butt of a large palm fronds is a foot wide.  Artist 

Jennifer Rogers turns them into incredible colorful art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A local weaver creates handsome bowls and bird houses from long pine needles.

 

 

And what about these funky fish? 

 

 

I love this stuff! 

 

The upstairs gallery features prints, paintings and sculptures by Gainesville artist Amy Richard. 

 

 

It's worth the trip just to enjoy her wondrous display.

   Pangs of hunger had us walking towards Restaurant Row, the storied, stilted eateries hovering over the Gulf.  A year after the latest blow-out they still aren't back. 

 

Working were hanging Christmas lights on the hulk of this former restaurant.

 

    In the last year one has been able to recover its lonely bar and another is only hawking t-shirts. The Row took a serious beating that it is nowhere close to recovery. Maybe a year from now we can enjoy fresh fish there again with incredible views.

    With the main restaurants gutted finding food in Cedar Key can be a challenge. For starters, the grocery store is still boarded up as is the former chowder place next door.

    Charmless "Steamer's Cafe" is doing big business but had little appeal for us.  We opted for a food truck that had its own artsy garden.

    After lunch we strolled past the old town's stately wooden residences. Its their version of Gainesville's Duckpond (their "pond" is much bigger). Most sit high on hills and escaped the 11-foot surge of water that came with Hurricane Helene a year ago.  

   As we drove off the main island we past Annie's cafe, a delightful place for breakfast or lunch. Locals love Annie's mullet despite the many bones.

   The mullet is a funny fish. On Florida's east coast -where I grew up- we bought them for bait. On the west coast it's dinner. I like it smoked.

   There are wonderful trails just outside of downtown Ceder Key.  We love the Cemetery Trail that begins with a 1200' boardwalk tunneling though thick mangroves. It leads to an small, exceptional city park on an estuary. It features sculptures, picnic areas, and a frisbee golf course.

 Things didn't go so well at Museum State Park a mile east. We hiked a quarter-mile on a trail leading to a bay view. When we rounded the final bend the "view" had a huge disgusting sign next to it, "Florida Welcomes You To The GULF OF AMERICA!".  

   We wanted to puke. Where is the spray paint when you need it?  It was too obscene to photograph. I suppose DeSantis & Company has put them in every state park along the Gulf of Mexico.

   That was the only bummer on yesterday's  adventure.

  We had a terrific time and encourage you to head west. In 75 minutes you can be hanging your hammock in North Florida's Margaritaville. 

     ____________________________ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween Parade 2025

 OUR NEIGHBORHOOD HALLOWEEN PARADE- 10-31-25

 WHAT FUN WE HAD walking the streets surrounded by ghosts, goblins, and music!  I thank everyone who came out to celebrate our great Gainesville tradition, now in its sixth year.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday's procession.

-Glenn 

The BEE HIVE getting ready to buzz. They'll be in the Flying Pig Parade too!

 

 

o

"You wore black too?"

Our friends, Joey and Gabe

I asked our resident fortune teller, Zollar, if we would have a terrific parade and his card came up, "Yes".

Gregg is a man of many disguises.

 

One proud dad

Our Bone Family ready to march.

And this is how it looked when it all began. Over 200 happy people came out for our 15 minutes parade. Parents of young children tell us "that was just right".

E

Even some teens joined us!

This tel-evangelist did some preachin'!

Tom Tom John

Two inflatables discussing air pressure issues.

What you get for dinner on All Hallows Eve.

Bonehead at the end of the show.

 

    

   Everything thing went perfectly.  Francesca and I packed up and drove home in hopes a few of these kids would visit.   

When they did they really got a surprise...we handed out healthy treats. They could choose from tangerines, bat pretzels, or Everglades pumpkins from our garden. Some thought it was a trick and others, a treat.       :)

                                ___________ 

 

Below, some short parade videos.  

 

 

"UP THE CREEK" - October's Neighborhood News

      PUBLIX, "WHERE SHOOTING IS A PLEASURE"

       It blew my mind when I read that the Publix supermarkets were now allowing customers to bring guns in their stores. Don't we have enough problems without having to dodge gun-totin' cowboys and Proud Boys every time we run out of milk?

       I've shopped there for years but that's ending today.  Four hours ago I went inside the one on NW 43d Ave to speak with the manager.  She told me Florida's  new "open carry" state law  requires them to allow good ol' boys with AR-15s to roam the vegetable aisle.

Woman hunting for broccoli 

       I pointed out that the new law does not allow guns in private businesses unless the  business decides to allow it.

   She admitted this and  added that last week, her bosses at "Publix corporate", decided to allow  customers to openly display guns in their 900 Florida stores.

     I thanked her for her time and told her I no longer feel safe in her store. I then had similar  conversations with three assistant managers nearby. All said, "We do what we're told" and suggested that I direct my complaint to company headquarters.  Later, I did.

      If you decide to stop shopping at Publix make your voice heard. 1) Call the headquarters at 1- 800 242-1227 or 2) Go to their website and send a "contact us" message, www.publix.com/contact/contact-us. 

     If enough of us do it Publix might stop welcoming the gun totin' crowd. 

     In G'ville you can shop at markets that do not allow customers to display weapons in their stores. These businesses include Aldi's, Winn-Dixie, Walmart, Whole Foods, and Trader Joes. 

     It's hard to believe I'm writing this, that the deranged NRA has Republicans so tight in their grip. I believe they won't stop until every person over twelve is packing heat. What a whacked out world we live in.

 

This afternoon Francesca and I shopped at Ward's on NW 16 Ave. I saw  "No Open Carry" signs newly affixed to their doors. I thanked the manager who agreed that groceries and guns are a bad mix.

     If you can't pry yourself from Publix at least speak to the store managers there and express your displeasure. Complaining to the corporate office in Lakeland would be the next step and perhaps more effective. 

    Who wants to live in a world where the next mass shooting might be "where shopping use to be a pleasure"? 

 

 

 

FLORIDA PARK'S HALLOWEEN PARADE

It's happening again on Friday, Oct. 31st.  Gather at NW 17 St. and 12 Rd. at 5:30.  At six, we hoot, holler and march around the block. On All Hallows Eve a great time will be had by all in beautiful Florida Park. 

We are indebted to Rosi Arenas for creating this year's amazing parade flyer.

 

 

 

 

 

FLYING PIG III

Gainesville's most exciting event, THE FLYING PIG PARADE, will be held on January 3, 2026.  Now is a good time to sign up your group, or, to volunteer by going to our website, flyingpigparade.org.  

ART SHOW SUNDAY

Our annual "World's Littlest Art Show" will take place at the UCG church, 1624 NW 5 Ave, on Sunday, Oct; 26th, from 11a.m. to 1.  Along with 18 other artists, I'll be selling birds and fish (but not the kind you eat).  They're all made from the palm tree seed pods

 

that I find in your trash piles. It's a fun little show plus Francesca will be selling her fresh and delicious banana bread!

 

-THE RECENT PAST-

 

GT SHOW'S 'EM HOW 

Last weekend I led a mask-making workshop  at the 

Two of my satisfied customers

Gainesville Fine Arts Association's gallery on South Main. Visit them, its a very special place, a home for our art community for over a century!

 

TRAVELING FAR 

Francesca and I crossed the pond to visit Croatia last month. 

 

 

At one point we were surrounded by waterfalls and later, in the Dubrovnik Cathedral, we encountered an ornate silver box containing Jesus' swaddling clothes.  

 

 

 

 

 

There are many more stories and I'll share them when I can. 

Croatia seems fine but our own country is falling apart so let's move on and praise something positive, our

 

NO KINGS II RALLY !

We had another incredible gathering of 1000+ Gainesvillians opposed to DJT's

 

 

destruction of our democracy.  The energy was high and the signs so clever!  

My friends and I marched around with drums and puppets, doing our best to raise hell and the spirits of everyone there.  I'm so looking forward to NO KINGS III !   

 

No Kings II attracted both young and old.

 

 That's it from NW 12th Road,

GT 

                    __________________