BALTIMORE — Who doesn't love a bubble?
Mary Uncustomary England is among those who've been captured by "the magic of it... You see one single bubble passing you by, you stop and look, and there's a center of awe around it."
She's the organizer of the 7th annual Bubble Parade, which has brought out several hundred people each year to enjoy a fun, bubbly and childlike kind of day in the park.
This year, you can check it out May 27 starting at 12:30 p.m., at Riverside Park in South Baltimore.
England, who works as a "merriment maker," launched the Bubble Parade in Hampden based on a hashtag from "100 Happy Days."
The company was looking for ambassadors worldwide for a Bubble Parade and chose her to represent Baltimore. The first Bubble Parade, on "The Avenue," drew about 70 people, and grew since then to eventually be too big for Hampden, she said.
"The concept really ultimately is just to blow bubbles," she said. Although that might seem like a pretty simplistic concept, England said people are always coming up to her and asking if she can host the event every Sunday.
The original parade was a straightforward walk down The Avenue blowing bubbles; England had encouraged people to wear whimsical outfits, and participants brought hula hoops, juggling, fire-spinning, and giant bubbles.
This year, the parade is blowing up even more.
It will feature a DJ, costume contest (including a dog category), digital photo booth, ice cream food truck, lawn games, and a mystery raffle - as well as a roughly 15-minute bubble walk.
For England, the event definitely seems suited to her personality.
"'Bubbles' was one of my first three words. I've been obsessed with bubbles my whole life... When you see thousands of them being blown in a bubble parade, where everyone is just kind of being whimsical, childlike and silly, we kind of come back to joy, even just for a moment, and I think we need more of that, all the time, especially now."
