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Arts & Entertainment

Kensington Labor Day Parade Keeps Spirit of Holiday Alive

Patriotism, Politics and Candy

Ordinarily, the sight of marching bands, horse-mounted police, old cars, sword-fighting pirates and a man dressed as a tree would be a strange sight flowing down Connecticut Avenue in Kensington.  But not when it's Labor Day.

Those sights were in full display Monday during Kensington's 43rd Annual Labor Day Parade and festival. Bands from Gaithersburg and Montgomery Blair High Schools drummed their way through town, while local and state politicians, school board members, city council people and would-be office holders waved from convertibles.  Campaign volunteers and others threw candy out to crowds of delighted kids, many of whom said the sweet stuff was their favorite aspect of the day. Scores of local businesses, churches, schools and performers like the Washington Revels rounded out the days' entertainment. 

For a day that many equate with rest, it was a lot of work putting it all together, said this year's parade coordinator, Kara Sherill.

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There were 75 parade units in this year's parade, Sherrill said, with each consisting of between two to 100 people.  Work began on the parade in January, when Sherill and a team of forty volunteers began seeking sponsors to help cover parade costs, and continued through the summer, when they began taking applications for parade participants. 

Not that she minds all the hard labor. 

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"I hope they just have a good time and see what Kensington has to offer," Sherill said.

Hundreds of attendees appeared to be doing just that on Monday.  Residents cheered and waved flags in near-perfect weather along the parade route, which started at Plyers Mill Road and St. Paul Street and ended with an outdoor festival of food, crafts and vendors booths at Howard Avenue and Fawcett Street, near Kensington's Antique Row.

Some, like Silver Spring resident Teresa Peachey, have brought their young families to the parade for years.

"We live a half mile from here, so we always come with the kids." Peachey said. "It's a fun thing.  There's a lot of different groups in the community that we know. You've got the Scouts, you've got the different schools, the dance groups. You can wave to your neighbors."

Maureen Fay, a Kensington resident and mom, ticked off the number of people she knew in the parade like she was reading a grocery list.

"We know some Boy Scouts, Parkwood Elementary School, the Irish step dancers, the karate people. The politicians. We know a lot of the regulars, they come every year."

While some folks came to cheer on friends and neighbors and enjoy the live entertainment, other onlookers, such as Garrett Park resident John Gould, came with the meaning of the day in the forefront of their minds.

"I like celebrating Labor Day because I believe in labor, the philosophy," Gould said.

He also came to check out some local candidates for city and state offices.  "I like to see the politicians come out and put a face to the name. I'm pretty sure who I might be voting for, but I just want to see, to make certain."

Many people brought their children, extended family and even their dogs, but Gould had a very special pal with him this year. 

"I brought my cat, Pud," Gould said, as Pud pulled on his leash, trying to get out of the way of an overly interested dog. "We've been here since the beginning of the parade, and he walked down the parade route following some of the parade participants.  After 11 years, he's gotten used to pretty much everything… so when the fire trucks and horns and the horses come by, he's relatively calm."

Richard Ehrenreich, a retired Wheaton & Kensington Chamber of Commerce board member, has driven his replica 1929 Mercedes-Bennz SSK Roadster in the parade for the Chamber for years. He said he thinks Labor Day is an opportunity to be patriotic.

"We pump a lot of patriotic music through, because I think it's a really good time for all these people out there to get a little dose of patriotism," Ehrenreich said.  "Sometimes I think it gets a little lost in this country. With less people being in the military, I think we've got to remember who made the country and sometimes we have to defend it."

The Kensington festivities aren't far off from the original vision of how Labor Day should be celebrated. According to the Department of Labor's website, the first Monday of September was made a national holiday in June 1894, and an original proposal of the holiday stated the day should include "a street parade to exhibit to the public the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families."   

Today, the Kensington Labor Day parade and festival is one of the few Labor Day events of its kind in Montgomery County.  For some, that's enough of a reason to bring out the family.

"It's just wonderful to have," said Peachey, the mom with two children at the parade.

"It seems to be a great American thing, to have a parade, and so you want to bring your kids to it and have them experience that."

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