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Have you ever attended an event that was so exciting and you didn’t stop smiling the entire time, but at the same time you were left confused and a little terrified by the whole thing?
It’s a weird mix of emotions and by the end of the day you’re pretty exhausted and reflecting back on everything you experienced in a short time frame.
I recently attended an event that left me feeling exactly like this - I was in heaven and have so many photos and videos from this day because I wanted to capture everything, but I also felt what I can only describe as culture shock.
As a Brit living in California, US, culture shock isn’t something that I’ve really struggled with since being here. Apart from the cuisine, I consider the culture fairly similar (as a Western developed country). But it was this event that really made me reconsider those feelings.
The event: A Christmas Pet Parade
Friday 17th December marks the date of one of the best, but equally crazy, events that I’ve ever attended; a parade of pups and their accompanying humans all dressed in their favourite Christmas outfits, spreading festive cheer across all of downtown San Diego. The Gaslamp Pet Parade is a must see if you’re anywhere near San Diego during the holiday period - get organising your 2023 outfits now!
I first saw this event advertised through The Animal Pad’s Instagram page (a beautiful San Diego based rescue shelter - blog coming soon) and wanted to attend, not only to selfishly spend the day surrounded by animals, but also to support this amazing charity.
(It’s worth noting that The Animal Pad were only present at the parades after-party, Pups in the Pub, hosted at The Hilton hotel (401 K Street). They hosted a stand with merchandise and information and were also joined by a few of their dogs that were ready to be adopted into loving homes).
The after-party event was even more intense than the parade, a sea of humans, dogs, and humans tripping over dogs was all that could be seen on the rooftop area of the Hilton hotel. The event included stalls selling dog treats, drinks for their human companions, Christmas gifts for all and a live DJ set playing all of your festive favourites.
Schedule for the day:
But I’m jumping ahead of myself, let's go back to the parade and the order of the day. The parade started around 1pm and lasted around 45 minutes as the dogs and owners were led by a 5 piece walking band around downtown San Diego, ending up outside The Hilton hotel event entrance. The Pups in the Pub after-party started at 2pm and lasted until 5pm (we didn’t last that long though).
The parade lasted just short of 1 hour and cost $25 to enter yourself and your canine companion, but was of course free to watch. The after-party was free to attend and we even received a free goody bag and raffle entry upon entering!
The Parade:
Our day started out at the Hilton hotel located in the beautiful and historic Gaslamp district in downtown San Diego. As we were walking from the bus station over to the event and turned around the final corner we knew we were in for an exciting day. We, my boyfriend and I, were greeted by a large crowd of humans and dogs all dressed in equally outrageous festive outfits, all waiting to parade through the streets spreading holiday fun with tails wagging. From the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who, to huskies dressed as reindeer, I don’t think I fully knew what to expect when we decided to go to a pet parade on a Saturday afternoon!
We followed along with the parade for the majority of the event; joining a parade is definitely a different way to explore a new neighbourhood of a city that’s for sure! It’s like receiving a free walking tour but instead of a tour guide spouting information, you’re following wagging tails and Christmas outfits.
The After-pawty:
I will note that my favourite song that the DJ played had to be the canine version of the classic ‘Deck the Halls’ in which the lyrics were replaced with rhythmic dog barks - this repeatedly set off dogs in the audience that were confused by the repeated, yet festive, woofing.
One of the best and most inspiring things that I saw at the after event - and something that I heard lots of people around me commenting in awe at - was a K9 working German Shepherd walking through the jam packed crowd never for one second leaving his master’s side. This might not sound that ‘sensational’ on paper - or on words through your screen - but let me paint the image for you to visualise; A gorgeous German Shepherd, who can’t have been more than a year old, hugging tightly against his master's leg as he walked through the crowd. He (the dog) maintained close attention at all times to his master and the commands he was being given; the concentration that it takes from a young dog to not show any interest in what’s going on in his surroundings is intense. Especially when those surroundings are hyped up puppies, treats and playful distractions.
The after-party, Pups in the Pub, also hosted an award show for all of the dogs that had entered the parade earlier that day. Awards such as, most outrageous costume, best group costume and best Christmas spirit were handed out to some of the best pups - I wouldn’t have wanted to be one of the people picking the winners for those titles!
Culture shock: What is it?
Culture-shock can be defined as the uncertain and overwhelming feeling that is brought on by a change in location, culture and lifestyle. It is most often felt when that change is quite dramatic from the comfortable or ‘normal’ for that person, but it can theoretically be felt in any situation. Similarly to the jet-lag that is felt when changing between time zones, the intensity of how much
this affects someone changes depending on the individual person and situation. Culture-shock is usually considered a negative feeling as it is linked to feelings of confusion and anxiety. However, I like to think of it as positive in some ways as it can throw you in the deep end of travel experiences and push you out of your comfort zone.
Culture shock: My experience living in California:
As I mentioned in the introduction to this blog, culture shock isn’t something that I would have considered a large issue for myself having moved from England, to Canada, to the US over the past year. The ‘culture’ is fairly similar, I am definitely not saying that they’re the same, but as far as countries in the world go, these three are all pretty close and are Western developed countries.
Perhaps the first element of culture shock that I’ve felt since being in the States is the food and the portion sizes. The stereotype is true, everything is bigger! You can buy a burrito from a street food truck and it’ll weigh more than a newborn baby. I was somewhat prepared for things like this, the highways are six lanes wide, the cars are twice the size as back home and the food is much bigger.
I will say that I reflected on my experience with culture shock from the day of the parade AFTER the pup parade and the after party. It wasn’t as if I was at the event struggling with negative feelings or feeling overwhelmed or overcome, it was purely something that I noted afterwards after realising how exhausting and stimulating the day had been. Don’t get me wrong, the day was amazing and I loved every minute, I took so many photos and was in dog heaven.
So what was it about this day that I’m considering shocking? It was an intense day for humans, let alone for the dogs themselves, they must have been exhausted after being so highly stimulated for the entire day. The after event at The Hilton Hotel was hosted in a narrow outdoor event area, it seemed as though the organisers had received more participants and spectators than they might have been expecting (it seemed as though there was a lot more people at the after party than at the parade, but maybe that’s because they were crammed into one space rather than lining the streets. The area became quite cramped and chaotic as the event went on as dogs became restless and bored of all of the fuss and photos. People were milling around to finish the day off but it became more of a sea of leads, humans and tails.
There was so many positivies and emotional highs felt on this day but I do feel that it's important to also discuss negatives that I felt surrounding this event and others similar. I felt as though it was an entirely privileged event that perhaps I was overwhelmed to be a part of when I have almost become accustomed to seeing the homeless and drug issues that dominate cities on the west coast (US & Canada). This is an entirely separate blog subject to be explored but cities such as San Diego, LA, San Francisco, Portland & Vancouver are overcome with homelessness, mental health issues, crime and drug use. It’s a sight that you see regularly across the cities in most neighbourhoods and so maybe I struggled at this dog event as I was unable to separate the two sides of Western American lifestyles that I have witnessed recently. It was hard to reflect back on a day that was filled with privilege and (the image of) wealth when you know that there is a very different reality for a large portion of the population, not those who have spent hundreds on matching festive costumes for themselves and their pet. There’s also the issue of dressing up your animal or dying their fur multiple colours, but again that’s a huge topic to address but one that I felt conscious of that day.
In reflection, the day was overwhelming but also so exciting and stimulating. I touched quickly on issues that I felt drew negativity towards an event such as this; these issues could be discussed in a lot more depth and detail but the focus of this blog was the parade and all of the gorgeous wagging tails that we saw that day. I don’t want to draw negativity towards an event that I otherwise considered well-organised, fun, exciting and chaotic in all of the right ways. It was dog heaven, whether you consider yourself a dog lover or not, this event was a great idea to get the family involved in creative festive fun. I think it’s best to say that Christmas is a holiday that brings all kinds of spirits out in people but everyone was smiling ear to ear all day, having fun and making new friends, both canine and human!
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