As an LGBTQ-owned certified business we at Polite Society have strong ties to the community in Seattle and beyond. We have been fortunate to work with many clients over the years on their pride activations at various events, and help them build their brand presence in a meaningful and sensitive way.

Chateau Ste. Michelle is one such client that gave us the opportunity to activate for their pride sponsorship in 2022 at Volunteer Park. It was extremely successful and the wine giant approached us again in 2023 to do something even bigger and better as a presenting sponsor of the Seattle Pride Parade.

We set about devising a series of budget-friendly float concepts that would befit an iconic brand. We wanted to make a splash at the parade while also honoring Chateau Ste. Michelle's integrity and alliance with the community. The added complication was we only had about 6 weeks until the parade.

One design grabbed their attention and was given the green light. It was time for action!

The early phase was sketching out our idea and figuring out a creative fabrication method.

After a few test runs we put the concept to scale in 3D so we could capture dimensions and day-of logistics.

Sketchup skills came in handy for visualization purposes

Finally it was time to put all the pieces together and bring the float to life. We assembled the base of the float off site, built to spec for the trailer we rented. The bottle and champagne glasses were mounted onto the base so they could be easily removed following the parade. The "grapes" were assembled at our office using over 100 balloons in pride colors.

The big day had arrived. Moving the float was no simple task. We had to bring the mounted set from the Chateau in Woodinville into downtown Seattle and assemble the final pieces on site. And parade floats do not vibe with freeway speeds. Not to mention the champagne bottle was too tall for some tunnels and underpasses along the route, so we had to carefully chart a path that would get everything there safely.

At last we had arrived. We met the contingent and our float dancers downtown and dressed the float with the final pieces.

The parade was a wonderful experience and the brand was well represented to the crowd of 300,000 lining 4th Avenue. Chateau Ste. Michelle was extremely happy with the outcome. The float had come together to add to the magic of an unforgettable parade and gracefully celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.