The Beauty Around Us

On Saturday afternoon (May 25) the Perry 200 Grand Patriotic Parade was held in downtown Erie, PA.   The parade is one of many events to be held as part of Erie’s Perry 200 Commemoration that honors the 200^th Anniversary of Commodore Oliver Perry’s defeat of the British in the War of 1812.  The 1.8 mile parade route traveled east on 12th Street from Cherry to 3rd and State Street through downtown Erie.  This historic parade featured more than 20 bands, numerous floats, several marching units, antique cars, giant helium-filled cartoon and patriotic balloons and more.  The Perry 200 Grand Patriotic Parade was the largest and most diverse celebration ever seen on the streets of Erie!

Bob and I walked down to Perry Square at 10:00 am that morning.

Perry Square Fountain

As you can see it was a gorgeous day for a parade.

Don’t let the blue skies, though, fool you.  It was a cool day, as evidenced by the attire worn by parade spectators.

The parade didn’t begin until 1:00 pm, but parade spectators showed up well in advance to get a good place from which to view the parade.

We listened to the Erie Thunderbirds Drum & Bugle Corps at Perry Square, as it was warming up for the parade.

At approximately 1:15 pm the Erie Thunderbirds performed opening ceremonies at Perry Square.

The Groove

Some of the dancers

Bob took the video of the Erie flash mob, while I took still photographs.

This is where Bob stood, while he videotaped the Erie Flash Mob, as it passed by Perry Square.

The man standing by Bob is Chris.  We met him at the parade.  He is now my Facebook friend.  I stood even higher than Bob and Chris, while I took still photographs of the Erie Flash Mob.  I gave my spot to Chris, after photographing the Erie Flash Mob.  I didn’t particularly feel comfortable standing a couple feet above ground, leaning against a pole for stability and balance, on a small piece of concrete!  Chris ended up standing up there for 3 1/2 hours!   Bob and I didn’t stay at Perry Square for the duration of the parade.  We watched the parade from various points between Perry Square and 10th and State Street.

There were nine parade divisions — one division for each of the nine American vessels that fought in the Battle of Lake Erie in September 1813.  I will showcase photographs from each division in nine separate blog posts.