The Haines snow dragon marched along with the fire truck on Main Street in Haines this weekend for the holiday parade. Firefighters offered candy, but the dragon had firecrackers for the crowd.
The snow dragon has been a fixture of the Haines holiday parade for more than 30 years. Legend says he comes to chase the rain dragon away from the Chilkat Valley until spring. The drab colored cloth skin of the beast hides residents who lend their legs to the winter spectacle.
The parade is set to begin soon, and in the school, Chief Dragonneer Annette Smith is putting the last touches on the beast.
Smith: “It’s all kind of tied together.”
Nine volunteers are wrapped in a long cloth, their heads hidden by shiny fins. They peer out, checking how much of their path they will be able to see through the holes in the dragon’s armor plates. Resident Joe Parnell’s legs are sticking out from under the head of the dragon.
Parnell: “You’ve got to be a little bit strong and not slip on the road, and be able to operate without being able to see what is going on. Seeing is not a thing. You go by feel, and try to make it work, not run over the little kids.”
Resident Molly Wilson is at the dragon’s other end. She says she is ready to run.
Wilson: “We are like a whip. The back of the dragon means you are the person who runs the most. The person in front, they just have to move a little bit, walking left and right. The rest of us undulate back and forth, and the person on the end has the furthest to go.”
Wilson is practically a pro. She says she has been part of the dragon many times.
Wilson:”It used to be mandatory in high school.I think all the cheerleaders used to be in the dragon. Or anyone who was in DDF, and then maybe at some point it turned into getting extra credit if we were in the dragon.”
It’s time for the parade, and the dragon lumbers out of the school, gathering momentum and synchronization. The beast catches up to the fire truck. The truck is decorated with Christmas lights – a sturdy rope secures a chair on top of the vehicle. Santa sits atop, ready to throw candy to the crowd. This is the heart of the Haines holiday parade. The firefighters toss candy to children. The dragoneers complement that with firecrackers. They pass around sparklers.
The crowd cheers. This is one success for the snow dragon. As for chasing away the rain, the forecast for the week shows that in an el Nino year, one dragon may not be enough.
