The 62nd annual Texas Cavaliers River Parade was held Monday, April 20,along the River Walk.
The university had a float which held 20 people, including students, LeeRoy, National Alumni Board member and Texas Cavalier Carol Folbre and the Dead Barons band.
“Every year we have a different process for selecting students,” Folbre said. “We try to give as many people as possible the opportunity to represent Trinity on the float.”
Folbre communicates between the Texas Cavaliers, a volunteer organization, and the university to secure and organize the float each year.
This is the fourth year that the university has taken part in the parade with a float. The decorations on each float are designed by a company in Houston according to a theme designated by the Cavaliers. The theme for this parade was “Believe.” The Cavaliers organize the parade in order to raise money for children’s charity organizations within San Antonio and have done so since 1989. Many floats are held by universities and non-profits within San Antonio. While the Cavaliers reserve 17,000 tickets to sell for the parade, many more people attend the parade. The Cavaliers also sell parade medals to raise money.
“We are representatives of Trinity, and as you’re on the float passing by the crowd, everyone is cheering you on and embracing you,” Folbre said. “I felt like we were lifted up by the positivity and light-hearted atmosphere.”
This year the university float held 20 individuals, including the four-man band the Dead Barons.
The Dead Barons plays original songs in the style of “˜50s rock and roll and “˜60s soul music. Chair of mathematics Peter Olofsson plays keyboard in the band, while senior Ben Whitehead plays drums. The two other members include bassist and singer Jorge Serna and guitarist Jesse Delagarza. The Trinity Jazz Ensemble has played on the float in the past three years.
“It was definitely bumpier than playing on land,” Olofsson said. “Playing to a quarter of a million enthusiastic people is very different from playing to a handful of drunks in a bar. [It is] also much better when the only things thrown at you are cascarones.”
This year Folbre worked with the department of communication to select students to represent the university on the float. In the past, there have been class agents who selected a student from each class to join. Folbre noted that Time Warner Cable news came and spoke with some students about the event before the parade took place. One student selected to join the float was junior Taylor Mobley.
“This experience really encouraged me to get out in San Antonio more. I don’t want to graduate from Trinity with a surface-level knowledge of this vibrant yet unassuming city,” Mobley said. “I urge students to make a conscious effort to engage with the city and soak in everything it has to offer while [we] have the chance.”
The Texas Cavaliers River Parade is only one of many events within the city to celebrate Fiesta, which runs through Sunday, April 20.
“It was so refreshing to encounter so many people that [were] encouraging each other,” Mobley said. “It was a reminder that rather than always focusing on what we need to do for tomorrow or for the future, sometimes we need to let all of that go and just be.”
