Alexandria Celebrates George Washington with a Hometown Parade
February 18th, 2008 Categories: Alexandria, Things to Do
On Monday, tourists and residents alike lined an 80 year old parade route to honor the birthday of Alexandria’s most famous resident, George Washington.
The Larson family with Gatsby, their flat coated retriever getting ready for the parade (look closely, he really is there.)
With clear skies and balmy winds (at least for the first half of the day), onlookers were treated to local marching bands, lamas decked out in red, white and blue, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts,
local officials, Abe Lincoln and Civil War re-enactors (we don’t mind mixing eras), Shriner’s and well, just about anyone else who decided they wanted to be part of the festivities.
U.S. Congressman Jim Moran
Following a European tradition, the citizens of Alexandria first began celebrating Washington’s birthday during his presidency with a “Birthnight Ball” – a tradition that later led to the national holiday we now know as President’s Day.
Gatsby’s Tavern was one of the oldest establishments in Colonial Alexandria.
After serving two terms as President of the United States, George Washington “retired” to Mt. Vernon, his plantation home on the Potomac River but traveled frequently into the City of Alexandria. To accommodate these trips – two hours each way by boat – Washington built a small cottage at 508 Cameron Street where he kept business appointments and stayed overnight when warranted.
George Washington Middle School, located on Mt. Vernon Avenue in Del Ray, serves all of the City of Alexandria.
Washington was just 21 years of age when he was dispatched by the royal governor to take an ultimatum to the French that they withdraw to Canada.
Bagpipes are just part of the legacy left by Scottish settlers.
The old and the new – always a part of Alexandria
Thanks for stopping by,
Michael
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Michael, looks like a great parade. GW was our first and it is nice to see that his memory is revealed by his old town. Great blog.
David
Thanks David. Alexandria really does take its history and traditions very seriously. We have a Scottish Walk (another parade) in December and then we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a parade in March. In addition to George and Abe, we also had Franklin D. Roosevelt marching and waving.
Michael