Town Band miss out as 4th July parade cancelled
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Mullingar Town Band played with Kittanning Firemen’s Band from Pennsylvania over the weekend after the Washington 4th of July parade they were due to participate in was cancelled.Image 2 of 3
At the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC.Image 3 of 3
Members of the Mullingar Town Band group at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.A trip of a lifetime to the United States for Mullingar Town Band has been curtailed due to the extreme high temperatures there – but they are making the most of it despite the setbacks.
On the 4th of July weekend, and as part of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, they were to perform in the Salute to Independence Parade in Philadelphia, the National Independence Day Parade in Washington, DC, and in concert at The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin and Thomas Paine Park in New York City.
As Kim Magee, band director, told the Westmeath Examiner on Sunday evening, some of that didn’t happen because of the high temperatures, but the mood in the group remained buoyant, she said.
“We’re on the bus to New York having been in Washington for the last two days,” said Kim. “After flying in on Thursday, we got word on Friday morning very early, just as we got ready to go out to do the parade, that it was cancelled, and we were just devastated.”
After months of rehearsal and fundraising, and new lightweight uniforms in anticipation of the warmer weather, their devastation was understandable, but as Kim explained, they “ended up meeting up with the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Irish community in Philadelphia – they hosted us and we had a wonderful morning there”.
They did a brief band rehearsal in the shade and a short parade around the block. “That Irish community had a banner made for us, as they were scheduled to march behind us in the parade in Philadelphia – so they marched with us around the block where their clubhouse is.”
Their next engagement was the 4th of July parade in Washington, but last thing on Friday night “we got word that unfortunately it was cancelled due to the extreme heat”.
That was a major disappointment, but again the members and band leaders showed their resilience, and linked up with another marching band who had contacted their tour operators. They met at Gravelly Point, a lakeside park near Washington, and “played a few tunes with this other band from Pennsylvania”.
“It was an impromptu recital between the two bands – we played some of our marching band programme and they played some of their marching band programme. We chatted, had a few laughs and presented each other with gifts, and then from there the band went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
“We were supposed to go on to another museum but the issue was it was another 20-minute walk and it was too hot to walk that distance, so we all went to the one museum and spent a couple of hours there.”
Kim said they enjoyed that, and afterwards, while some went back to their accommodation to rest, others went to the National Mall to enjoy the atmosphere before the fireworks. That show was delayed due to a storm, “and the crowds were getting too big so we hit for home then”.
They were up early on Sunday morning for a visit to Arlington Cemetery ahead of the crowds. “We saw the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we had a walking tour to the Lincoln Memorial and the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and now here we are on route to New York.”
The Town Band are going sight-seeing in NY, and to see Aladdin the Musical on Broadway today, Tuesday, and tomorrow afternoon, are performing in concert at Thomas Paine Park as part of the America 250th celebration.