Clowning is serious business on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit
(CBS DETROIT) - We all know the expression "clowning around."
But for Lena Antoon and the 200 members of Detroit's Distinguished Clown Corps, putting on the clown suit is serious business.
By day, Antoon teaches Public Speaking at Detroit's Wayne State University.
But when she leaves for the weekend on Thanksgiving, Antoon gets ready for her march along Woodward Avenue in her clown suit as part of Detroit's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The colors the clowns wear have a special significance. They change for each five years of service in the Corps.
"The first five years, it has to be white," Antoon said. "And then it's the pattern of your choice."
Antoon chooses patterns that are heavy on music references from the 80s.
"So, I love my cassettes, I love my synthesizers, I love my electric guitars."
Now in her eighth year, Antoon is on her second suit. Members of the Clown Corps pay a thousand dollars each year for the privilege of walking in the Thanksgiving Day parade. The annual dues go to the Parade Foundation, which funds the Thanksgiving Day event.
For Antoon, she says, it's all worth it to see the smiles on the faces of the children as she and the other clowns hand out colorful Mardi Gras beads.
But wouldn't she rather stay in bed on Thanksgiving morning?"
"Yes, I really do," said Antoon. "Because I already wake up very, very early. As soon as that alarm goes off, I already have everything laid out from the night before, even hand warmers, just in case."