These Socially Distant But Still Social People Are Throwing Mini Parades to Lift Spirits Amid Coronavirus

As people are staying indoors to help prevent the further spread of coronavirus, mini parades of the socially distant variety are popping up.

To help give a morale boost to parents trying to work from home while teaching their children while schools are closed, some community-minded folks are doing what they can to keep their neighbors entertained from a distance. People around the globe have been hosting little parades to cheer up folks doing their part in this effort.

These ad hoc celebrations are a safe way to say hello, reconnect, and celebrate communities while maintaining a safe social distance. Teachers from the Northwest Elementary School in Leominster, Mass., threw together a parade to say hello to their students, according to the local CBS affiliate. Teachers from the West Towson Elementary School in Towson, Md. did the same for their students, as did Ohio teachers from the Northwest Local Schools in Canal Fulton.

Same for teachers at this school in Kansas City, Mo.:

Friends, family, and neighbors threw a birthday parade for a 7-year old in Poolesville, Md., CBS’s Baltimore affiliate reports. A Becker, Minn., community helped cheer up 4-year-old Elly whose birthday party was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic Amy Drehmel told FOX 9, and a group of drive-by partiers in Santa Clarita helped a five-year old mark the day.

A family in Ireland threw a St. Patrick’s Day parade in their backyard complete with toy cars and trucks to keep spirits up while in lockdown, ABC reports.

While birthdays and holidays may merit celebration, not every parade needs a reason other than spreading good cheer. In Milwaukee, neighbors put together a parade where everyone dressed up in dinosaur suits and ran around. According to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, one dino carried a ruler to make sure all participants stayed the required six feet apart to stay safe.

Over in New Mexico, local news outlet KOB 4 reports that Belen residents Gloria and Bud Hill have been holding daily parades to cheer on—and cheer up—their neighbors. Gloria sits in the back of a pickup truck as her husband drives through town waving and saying hello from a safe distance: