--- title: People Are Throwing Social Distance Parades to Lift Spirits description: People are throwing safe parades amid coronavirus. canonical: https://time.com/5808848/teacher-parade-coronavirus/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-03-24T16:06:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:01:24.462Z og:title: These Socially Distant But Still Social People Are Throwing Mini Parades to Lift Spirits Amid Coronavirus og:description: And people are showing up og:url: https://time.com/5808848/teacher-parade-coronavirus/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Socially Distant But Still Social People Are Throwing Mini Parades to Lift Spirits Amid Coronavirus twitter:description: And people are showing up twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # These Socially Distant But Still Social People Are Throwing Mini Parades to Lift Spirits Amid Coronavirus by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Mar 24, 2020 4:06 PM CUT by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Mar 24, 2020 4:06 PM CUT As people are staying indoors to help prevent the further spread of [coronavirus](https://time.com/5804786/coronavirus-issue/ "undefined"), 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](https://boston.cbslocal.com/2020/03/23/coronavirus-massachusetts-schools-leominster-parade/ "undefined"). Teachers from the West Towson Elementary School in Towson, Md. [did the same](https://www.wbaltv.com/article/coronavirus-west-towson-elementary-school-teachers-parade/31887997 "undefined") for their students, as did Ohio teachers from the Northwest Local Schools in Canal Fulton. > [](https://twitter.com/alexstokestv/status/1242121844850937858) Same for teachers at this school in Kansas City, Mo.: > [](https://twitter.com/DrStephensEdD/status/1242149089980137475) Friends, family, and neighbors threw a birthday parade for a 7-year old in Poolesville, Md., CBS’s [Baltimore affiliate reports.](https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/03/22/coronavirus-birthday-party-parade-poolesville-maryland/ "undefined") A [Becker, Minn., community](https://www.fox9.com/news/neighbors-celebrate-4-year-olds-birthday-with-parade-after-coronavirus-cancels-party "undefined") helped cheer up 4-year-old Elly whose birthday party was canceled due to the [coronavirus](https://time.com/5806312/coronavirus-treatment-cost/ "undefined") pandemic Amy Drehmel told [FOX 9](https://www.wogx.com/news/neighbors-celebrate-4-year-olds-birthday-with-parade-after-coronavirus-cancels-party "undefined"), and [a group](https://twitter.com/ABC7Brandi/status/1240762990028140545 "undefined") of drive-by partiers in Santa Clarita helped a five-year old mark the day. > [](https://twitter.com/ABC7Brandi/status/1240762990028140545) 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.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMI64zQ3nt8 "undefined") > [](https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1240026902016012295) 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_,](https://www.jsonline.com/picture-gallery/news/2020/03/22/neighbors-organize-social-distance-dinosaur-parade-during-coronavirus/2895573001/ "undefined") one dino carried a ruler to make sure all participants stayed the required six feet apart to stay safe. > [](https://twitter.com/mdesisti/status/1241910084541784064) Over in New Mexico, [local news outlet KOB 4 reports](https://www.kob.com/coronavirus/one-woman-parade-brings-joy-to-those-stuck-at-home-in-belen/5679084/ "undefined") 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: ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5808848/teacher-parade-coronavirus/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5808848/teacher-parade-coronavirus/"},"headline":"These Socially Distant But Still Social People Are Throwing Mini Parades to Lift Spirits Amid Coronavirus","datePublished":"2020-03-24T16:06:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:01:24.462Z","description":"If coronavirus isolation is getting you down, throw a safe parade","url":"https://time.com/5808848/teacher-parade-coronavirus/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Brief","clickmonsters"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5808848/teacher-parade-coronavirus/","name":"These Socially Distant But Still Social People Are Throwing Mini Parades to Lift Spirits Amid Coronavirus"}}]}] ```