Do you have a kayak that you’ve always wanted to parade through downtown Manning?
Well, the organizers for the Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America exhibit coming from the Smithsonian Institution are looking for that and more for a parade that will celebrate the exhibit’s opening Nov. 3.
The Sports Parade will be held 5 p.m. that day, starting at the Pocotaligo Plaza, or the old Bmart shopping center, and proceeding down Brooks Street to Maple Street and, finally, Weldon Auditorium, where a tailgating party from 5-7 p.m. will take place.
“We are looking for any sports people to participate in the parade, and we would like them to sign up as early as possible so we can get the lineup, which will start at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 3,” said parade organizer Marie Land.
There are only a few rules: The person driving the car or truck must have a driver’s license, and no candy can be thrown.
Land said current participants include former Manning mayor Will Harvin, who played football for the Carolina Gamecocks; Ted Gardner, or “Mr. Clemson,” who has attended every Clemson-Carolina rivalry game for the past seven decades; and former Manning High School basketball coach John Franklin Thames, who will serve as grand marshal.
“We will have the Manning High School band participating, and hopefully teams from all the schools in the county will walk in the parade,” Land said.
She said the Hometown Teams Committee is looking for “fishermen, hunters, bicyclists and really anyone involved in the sports world locally” to participate.
“We would love for someone to pull a kayak right down North Brooks Street,” she said.
She said she hopes teams will wear their uniforms, team shirts or other sporting gear.
“After the parade, we will spill into the Weldon parking lot to have a big old tailgate party,” she said. “Business and booster clubs will sponsor tables and provide food for the whole crowd. If you have a tailgate, you’re going to set up your team and have a table. There will be one dish you have, just one thing.”
It will be a lot like the county’s famous Taste of Clarendon, Land noted. She said participants can bring tents and chairs.
“That makes it more festive,” she said. There will be a $100 prize for best all-around tailgate table.
“There’s no cost to participate in the tailgate or the parade,” she said. “We just need to know they’re coming so we can give them a spot.”
Land said the food is up to the sponsor, but should serve about 250 people in “little servings.” She also asks that sponsors provide the spoons, forks or knives needed to enjoy provided delicacies.
“We will tailgate until about 6:45 p.m., and then have our big fanfare and go inside and watch a lovely film made by local students that focuses on local sporting heroes,” Land said. “I think the parade will be absolute fun. Think about it: When will we ever have another
sports parade? Probablly never, so this is there chance to be involved in something like this.”
The Hometown Teams exhibit will run at Weldon Auditorium from Nov. 3 through mid-December. A local exhibit will also be hosted during the same time at the Clarendon County Museum and History Center on the corner of South Brooks and Keitt streets.
Thames will also be honored during the period of the exhibit at Weldon Auditorium, with an 81.5-year-old birthday party from 4-6 p.m. Nov. 19.
“We’ve been wanting to do something for John Franklin Thames’ birthday, but it’s in the spring,” Land said. “When we wanted to do it earlier this year, he was a little ill and wasn’t well enough. His 81.5-year birthday is Nov. 19, so we’re going to honor him and wish him a happy birthday. Everyone is invited.”
Land said organizers are calling on folks to “make John Franklin Thames’ birthday a ‘slam dunk.’”
“We are wanting folks to contribute to his scholarship fund, and all of his scholarships go to female athletes,” Land said.
SEE ALSO: Local exhibit, documentary to complement Smithsonian exhibit
