Christopher Paolini Set to Head Billings Holiday Parade on a Saphira-Inspired Float

By Mike Macauley October 10, 2011 Christopher Paolini, Events, Inheritance (Book 4) 51 Comments

How’s this for cool news? The Billings Gazette is reporting that Christopher Paolini has been chosen to lead the Billings Holiday Parade as the honorary grand marshal! Christopher will ride on a dragon-themed holiday float at the start of the parade, joined by writing competition winners (who he will be having dinner with prior to the parade).

Christopher will end the night with a book signing taking place after the parade at Barjon’s in Billings. The book store will be closing off the street in front of the store “for live exhibitions by the Society of Creative Anachronism, including a demonstration of making chainmail armor.” The signing is open to the public and is a part of Christopher’s post-Inheritance North American book tour!

We’ll be sure to post photos and information from the event once it happens!

  • Elena Shadeslayer

    aw…. why not in NY???

  • Chrisklepp

    Haha it’s only 2 hours away for me. Finally, living in Wyoming has some usefulness!

  • Guest

    Nice! By the way, while we’re waiting for it to happen, what does everyone think about this photo (http://img3.lsistatic.com/members/820275/the_true_arya.jpg) of Arya?

  • Matt

    I’m
    sorry but forget this, it’s not even fun anymore. The Book will be out in 24 days, I can
    wait, I’m done checking this thing for the interview a couple times a day. I
    understand it’s not in anybodies control as far as shurtugal.com is concerned
    but still. By the time Random House gets around to releasing the interview there isn’t even going a whole lot of time to speculate on any of what C.P. said relates to Inheritance. Hope everyone enjoys Inheritance, it’s been fun theorizing and
    speculating with you all since the beginning.

    • Sirdracoblight

      I agree. The big 20 questions aren’t predictable anymore. It appears that shurtugal.com is flailing for news that is only slightly relevant to the series. Once the book is out, this site will probably start to die. I know that once I hold the book in my hands I fully intend to avoid this site at all costs. Sorry Mike, hope you find a new series that you can host a site for. It’s no wonder you created lytherus.com when you did. Can’t blame you. Best of luck.

      • Belgarion

        Not bad.  You’re right about the Big 20 questions.  They’re not coming out every week as promised, and when Inheritance was announced in March, “many activities and fun stuff” was announced in the article, but here we are less than 1 month before the release and all we got was the Big 20 and a couple of interviews to reveal a bit of Book 4.  No offense to Mike and all the Shurtugal staff, but this website probably will die after Book 4 is out.  CP probably won’t publish anything for another  year or so after Inheritance is over, so until then… Best of luck, Shurtugal.  Peace out. 

  • hoke

    How come there have been no new posts for 3 days?

    • Arya<3

      cause there’s no news…

      • hoke

        Now 4 days 🙁

  • Dragon2003

    19 hours and 20 minutes for me by car. 🙁

  • Tricia

    YAY finally living in Billings pays off

  • The Green dragon

    1 day and 7 hours 🙁 🙁 🙁

  • Feisty-fitz

    Mike, why won’t they let you release the interview??? Don’t they realise nobody will be interested in it in approximately 26 days????

    • They have to milk the news that is available between now and when the book comes out, if they don’t they might run out of news to put up.

  • The chainmail manufacturing would be cool to see. Even better if it was Runhon herself doing it.

  • Emily Sasaki

    I’ve got a countdown on the whiteboard in my room.. and guess what it says? 27 DAYS LEFT!!!!!! The countdown continues…

    • Peter Aamand Andersen

      Same here

  • I should enjoy watching this 🙂

    BTW only 27 days left pplz =D

  • DragonsAreAwesome

    I am SO SO SO SO SO SO JEALOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Two of my favorite things in the world:  dragons and Christopher Paolini together on a float. ANDDDD you get to have dinner with him?????  OMG I wish I could have entered that contest, or a least go to the parade.  When is it???  But still, Montana is pretty far from Toronto 🙁
    VERY JEALOUS.

  • WWS

    WHAT CONTEST?

  • James Winters

    meh

  • Thomas the Wise

    Awesome! I want to go there and see how Christopher Paolini rides a dragon ^_^

  • kingkiller97

    God
    shame i cant be there since Ireland is so far away and tickets are so expensive
    love to see float
    post lots of pics on facebook,twitter and shurtugal please 

  • Christy

    Sounds interesting. Not sure where this is, though, but it’s probably too far for me to go anyways.

    BTW, where’s the second part of that interview you promised would be out by the end of last month? Or did I miss something and you meant the end of THIS month? ‘Cause the end of this month is real close to the release date!

    • Sallystar6of7

      Billings is in Montana.

  • AvaAnnaZ

    Cool cool (just checking the website for updates during my lunchbreak at school…)

  • Tavin

    1 day and 12 hours of a drive for me.. still, dinner, talk and ride with Chris Paolini? I think that’d be so worth it

  • Anonymous

    I have a question to ask, why does CP have eragon learn the same things over and over :S for example, summoning and expelling items …….

  • Denmark111

    What is this Billings Holiday Parade?

  • Valbrandr

    Ahahaha! What a funny idea! I’m not sure Saphira would be pleased if she could see her papier-mache twin.

    • Yamatodragon1978

       I get the feeling she would say something along the lines of what she said to Eragon about his joke about naming his sword Sheepbiter.

  • dang it is a 24hr dive for me

    • Matt S

      30 for me

      • blue2282

        You know… it will take me 80 days…

    • BWD

      24 hour FLIGHT for me. I live in another country! ;A;

  • Horsegal4ever

    Where do you enter the contest?

  • Coasterking

    is this perade telivised?

  • istalri

    I hope there will be pictures posted!!!

  • Anonymous

    I would love to see the float. I wish I could be there

  • Anonymous

    That would be so funny to see xD

  • GirlOfManyNames

    Why does he have to go to Billings AFTER I move away? Heavy sigh.

    • Emily L.

      I know!  I moved away a few years back, and it’s like beam me back!

  • hoke

    this is awesome! i’m probably going home for thanksgiving though, all the way in north dakota. i wish i could do both 🙁

  • Bookworm

    I really think this will be interesting…I want to try the writing contest, but I probably won’t have any chance with all the people who will enter!:(

    • Lil Uhura

      But you’ll have No chance if you don’t try.  The worst that can happen is that you won’t be chosen, so why not go for it?  I did something like this myself back when I was in high school for a contest that was sponsored by Ray Bradbury.  I didn’t win, but I at least got a very nice letter from him telling me that he liked my story.  Maybe the same thing will happen for you.  You won’t know unless you try.

  • Jwelde

    Wow that’s wild! Sounds cool

  • David S

    I am very tempted to take the 12 hour drive to see this… why couldn’t the parade it be a week earlier when I would already be in Rexberg, ID!

    • hoke

      do you go to BYU-I david?

      • David S

        No, but my sister did and is getting married in Rexberg the previous weekend.

        • hoke

          oh nice i’m there now in my 3rd semester