Mainx24 Fireman Breakfast and Parade

This is our third year to hit up the Mainx24 event, starting with the Fireman's Breakfast and Parade. This year the weather was cold but not freezing and no rain. It was also the 10th year for the event to be held and the streets were packed!

We made plans to meet friends at the Fireman's Breakfast and it was crazy. We could barely find a seat and then had to wait 15 minutes to be served. I'm glad the money is going to a good cause, I hope they figure out a better way to serve their pancakes in the future!

After eating pancakes, Jack and Daniel toured the firehouse while I saved us a spot on the street for the parade. We enjoyed running into lots of friends and then watching the parade.

Jack and his friends were pumped about all of the candy they collected and Isaac was generally mesmerized by everything that was going on. He did NOT want to sit in his stroller.

Many of the usual suspects appeared in the parade this year – including marching bands, the BookMobile (my favorite), decked out VW camping vans, and the Mutt Strutt.

And this year we were even privy to a wedding that occurred on a parade float! This is such a fun event. If you haven't been before, you need to put it on your to-do list for next year!

After the parade ended, we checked the schedule to see what else was happening. We made our way to do an ornament craft with the local Roller Derby Girls.

And then we walked down to Velo Coffee Roasters to watch people sumo wrestle each other.

The kids thought this was hilarious. Too bad they don't have little sumo wrestling!

We had such a fun morning. We can't wait to do it all again next year! I love our little traditions and the month of December is packed with fun stuff.

Mainx24 Years Past: 2015 │ 2014

Mainx24: A Christmas Tradition

Mainx24 is a newer tradition for our family. Last year we participated in our first Fireman's Breakfast and the Mainx24 Christmas Parade and we loved it, so this year I wanted to make sure we didn't miss out.

I knew that Saturday was going to be a busy day for us (Daniel had plans for an afternoon hike with friends) and his mom was also coming into town, but we still managed to squeeze in the breakfast and parade on a gorgeous December day.

We all slept in (a first!), but I managed to get everyone awake and out the door by 9:30am. We arrived at the fire station at 10am and had just enough time to eat breakfast and then walk outside to enjoy the parade.

 

This is the same timeline we followed last year and it was perfect for kids – no extra waiting in line for pancakes and the parade started right after breakfast was over.

 

While we ate our pancakes, someone played Christmas carols on a grand piano. The music was nice, but then a lady got up to accompany the piano. Jack's reaction sums it up, "That lady is yelling and it scares me." He proceeded to cover his ears for the duration of breakfast. To be fair, the singing probably wasn't as bad as it sounded, but the PA system was lousy and all together it was not working. So we gobbled up our pancakes and headed outside.

We found a good spot right outside of the fire station and then ran into a college friend. We love that even though Chattanooga is a city, it is still small enough to run into friends at local events! 

We thought that Isaac would nap in the stroller, but he loved watching all of the floats and people walk by. Jack loved collecting all of the candy and now our candy dish is restocked and should last us until Easter.

My favorite part of parades are the marching bands. I always get a little choked up. I guess it just makes me feel nostalgic. Jack really liked the marching band too – even when they stopped right in front of us and banged loudly on the drums!

 

There was a man playing an organ directly behind where we were standing, so in addition to the parade, we were serenaded with Christmas music the entire time.

 

Other favorites included the Chattanooga Fire Cabaret and the Book Mobile (they pass out books to kids every year). I also adore all of the old jeeps and cars, and the VW Campers decorated for Christmas.

I'm looking forward to next year! Mainx24 lasts for 24 hours on Main Street with many more activities. Hopefully we will be able to squeeze in a couple of other things next year in addition to the pancake breakfast and parade.

Mainx24

Mainx24 is a 24-hour long festival celebrating Main Street and the surrounding Southside, held every December since 2007 in Chattanooga. 

Over the last month I had come across several advertisements for Mainx24 so when a schedule of events came across my Facebook Newsfeed, I was curious.

The very first event listed was a Pancake Breakfast at the Fire Station on Main Street. I was pretty sure my guys would love this and I am always down for pancakes.

Daniel had a really long work week last week... He was only home for dinner one night and unfortunately missed putting Jack to bed a couple of nights as well. I knew he needed a break to do nothing, but we also needed to spend some time together as a family.

The Pancake Breakfast lasted until 11am, so I let everyone sleep in as late as possible and then we made our way downtown by 10:30. Win win for everyone, right? 

The cost was $5 for pancakes per person and it supports the local fire station. Plus we got to check out the fire engines. Jack (and Daniel) were in heaven.

As we finished up our breakfast we realized that a parade was starting outside. We hurried out and were thankful that we all had rain jackets on since it was raining. 

I don't know what it is about marching bands in parades, but they make me feel weepy. I am not a weepy person and this is not just pregnancy hormones. Every parade I see I tear up at the marching band. 

My favorite part of the parade was the BookMobile that came last. They gave a book to every child at the parade. We received a hardback copy of "A Star So Bright, A Christmas Tale" and Jack loves it.

The parade was fun and we saw some creative floats. Plus we got lots of candy to restock our candy supply at home.

After the parade, we wandered back into the fire station to check out the engines.

The breakfast and parade were the only part of Mainx24 that we attended, but it was a perfect event to kick off our weekend as a family. I look forward to going back next year.