How did our Project Coordinator Ellen Phillips become Queen of the 46th Annual Silky O’Sullivan Beale Street St. Patrick’s Day Parade? And why does the guy on stilts look so familiar to our clients? Here’s Ellen, in her own words:
“My hobby is hula hooping. When a friend of mine was crowned the 2017 Silky’s Queen, she asked me to hula hoop on her float. Silky’s enjoyed having us there so much that they invited us back the following year to lead the royal procession. What started as two hoopers in 2017 grew to ten hoopers by the next year. I was then asked if I would like to be queen this year, and of course I said yes! Joe Birch, legendary WMC-TV anchorman, served as King.
I was given full reign to invite whoever I wanted to participate. My Running Pony colleague, audio engineer Nate Reisman, has been training on stilts for the past couple of months and was excited to be part of my court. Nate was amazing as my 9-foot-tall leprechaun. I also had a juggler, 11 hoopers, 2 poi spinners, a flag spinner and several close friends involved.
It was a great honor and I look forward to hula hooping in the parade again next year!”
