Mummers Parade

This year's Mummers Parade has been canceled due to snow, Alsatia Club Parade Chairman James G. McCleaf II said Saturday morning. The Alsatia Club made the decision in consultation with the City of Hagerstown due to safety concerns, McCleaf said. Organizers were concerned that, with snow expected to continue through Saturday evening and leaves still on the trees, the snow could lead to broken tree limbs and downed power lines. "The parade was for the kids, and we don't want kids getting hurt," McCleaf said.

After its first cancellation since World War II, the Alsatia Mummers Parade on Saturday night appeared not to have missed a beat as thousands of participants marched, danced and rode past thousands more spectators. About 200 units ranging from floats with a few people to school bands with scores of players paraded down Potomac Street. The Alsatia Club set up more than 2,200 chairs along the route, but the sidewalks were jammed several rows deep with spectators, while others enjoyed a view from their apartments on a balmy October night.

Hundreds of hot dogs and buns had already been purchased. Gallons of steamers had been prepared. And hundreds of people had spent weeks preparing dozens of floats. The cancellation of Saturday's widely popular Mummers Parade due to a freak October snowstorm disappointed more than the thousands of people who turn out to watch the procession down Hagerstown's Potomac Street. For many organizations, the parade is the focus of their biggest or only fundraiser of the year as churches, Boy Scout troops and others operate concession stands and sell seats to the spectacle.

The 79th annual Alsatia Mummers' Parade is today at 7 p.m. The parade begins at the intersection of Potomac and Oak Hill avenues and goes south on Potomac Street, ending just before Wilson Boulevard. Reserved seating is available. Chairs will be available in the North End, at Public Square and at Bester Elementary School. There also will be bleacher seating at Bester. Tickets - $8 for chairs and $5 for bleachers - will be sold at the Alsatia Club, 141 W. Washington St., Hagerstown, today from 9 a.m. to noon.

Another year, another drama for the Mummers Parade. And I mean a real drama, not the kind that happens here in the newsroom every year when we try to remember whether or not “Mummers Parade” has an apostrophe, and if so, where. Last year the Mums was canceled because of a rare, late-October snowstorm. This allowed the directors of the parade to enjoy the same constructive criticisms the school board receives a dozen times during the course of the year, when helpful parents decide that classes should/should not have been canceled over too much/too little snow.

John Wesley United Methodist Church is selling tickets reserved seating for the Alsatia Mummer's Parade in front of the church, 129 N. Potomac St., Hagerstown. The parade is at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Seats cost $5. For more information, contact Donna at 301-733-0391 or dwhittjwumc@gmail.com .

The Alsatia Mummers Parade began decades ago as a way to keep kids from getting into mischief on Halloween weekend, said James McCleaf II, parade president and chairman. Now in its 83rd year, the parade is touted as one of the largest nighttime parades on the East Coast, with 10,000 participants and 100,000 spectators. This year's parade is scheduled for Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. The parade starts at the northern-most end of Potomac Street and ends near Bester Elementary School. For $8, spectators can use chairs provided by the Alsatia Club along the parade route.

Jessica Madden is a beauty queen without a float. The 18-year-old Hagerstown resident and reigning Miss Chesapeake State Teen 2012 said she was disappointed recently when Alsatia Club officials told her that she wouldn't be allowed to participate later this month in the organization's 87th Mummers Parade. “It's my hometown,” Madden said. “I remember being there when I was little watching all the queens go by. I just always wanted to be in it.” Parade Chairman James G. McCleaf II said the Alsatia Club denied Madden's application because the Alsatia Club only offers space to queens and princesses who are affiliated with the Miss Maryland Pageant.

By JULIE E. GREENE Staff Writer Hagerstown's annual Mummers' Parade cost city taxpayers about $16,769 this year, said City Finance Director Al Martin. The cost for police overtime, preparing for and cleaning up after the Nov. 1 parade is about the same every year, Martin said. Hagerstown City Police provided about $10,000 worth of overtime for the three-hour parade, Martin said. According to a report by Capt. Robert Hart, 91 police department employees were on duty the night of the parade, including Chief Dale Jones, two captains, 16 sergeants, seven detectives, four vice officers, three dispatchers, two traffic officers, two K-9 officers and 54 police officers.

Results from the 87th Alsatia Mummers Parade: Special judges award This award is presented in recognition of outstanding performance and crowd appeal and by discretion of the judges and Alsatia Judging Committee as follows in no particular order: Maryland Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans The Band, marching unit A and B Dance Dimensions White Tiger Martial Arts Judging award winners Floats Hub City...

After its first cancellation since World War II, the Alsatia Mummers Parade on Saturday night appeared not to have missed a beat as thousands of participants marched, danced and rode past thousands more spectators. About 200 units ranging from floats with a few people to school bands with scores of players paraded down Potomac Street. The Alsatia Club set up more than 2,200 chairs along the route, but the sidewalks were jammed several rows deep with spectators, while others enjoyed a view from their apartments on a balmy October night.

Homecoming queens from high schools throughout Washington County gathered Saturday afternoon at the Alsatia Club before Saturday night's Mummers Parade. Through the luck of the draw, one of them would be named queen of the parade. Chuck Metz, chairman of club's Princesses and Queens Committee, explained the process. “This is the way we pick. We have the same number of necklaces as girls. They are all identical. But they all say 'Alsatia Mummers Parade Princess,' and only one says 'Queen,'” he said.

Another year, another drama for the Mummers Parade. And I mean a real drama, not the kind that happens here in the newsroom every year when we try to remember whether or not “Mummers Parade” has an apostrophe, and if so, where. Last year the Mums was canceled because of a rare, late-October snowstorm. This allowed the directors of the parade to enjoy the same constructive criticisms the school board receives a dozen times during the course of the year, when helpful parents decide that classes should/should not have been canceled over too much/too little snow.

Jessica Madden is a beauty queen without a float. The 18-year-old Hagerstown resident and reigning Miss Chesapeake State Teen 2012 said she was disappointed recently when Alsatia Club officials told her that she wouldn't be allowed to participate later this month in the organization's 87th Mummers Parade. “It's my hometown,” Madden said. “I remember being there when I was little watching all the queens go by. I just always wanted to be in it.” Parade Chairman James G. McCleaf II said the Alsatia Club denied Madden's application because the Alsatia Club only offers space to queens and princesses who are affiliated with the Miss Maryland Pageant.

Hundreds of hot dogs and buns had already been purchased. Gallons of steamers had been prepared. And hundreds of people had spent weeks preparing dozens of floats. The cancellation of Saturday's widely popular Mummers Parade due to a freak October snowstorm disappointed more than the thousands of people who turn out to watch the procession down Hagerstown's Potomac Street. For many organizations, the parade is the focus of their biggest or only fundraiser of the year as churches, Boy Scout troops and others operate concession stands and sell seats to the spectacle.

This year's Mummers Parade has been canceled due to snow, Alsatia Club Parade Chairman James G. McCleaf II said Saturday morning. The Alsatia Club made the decision in consultation with the City of Hagerstown due to safety concerns, McCleaf said. Organizers were concerned that, with snow expected to continue through Saturday evening and leaves still on the trees, the snow could lead to broken tree limbs and downed power lines. "The parade was for the kids, and we don't want kids getting hurt," McCleaf said.

There was no Mummers Parade this year, but the Alsatia Club still chose a queen. It was a welcome, salvageable slice of tradition for club members on Saturday, after the disappointment of canceling the annual parade because of a snowstorm. Each year, each of Washington County's high schools has a representative in the competition. One of the princesses becomes the queen by chance. All receive a gift-wrapped box with a silver pendant. Whoever gets the one gold-plated pendant becomes the queen.

Alsatia Club representatives and Hagerstown officials are scheduled to meet Saturday morning to decide whether the Mummers Parade will be held in the evening despite a forecasted snowstorm. Early Friday, Alsatia Club Parade Chairman James G. McCleaf II said the parade would proceed, even if the weather was bad. But, as the forecast grew worse, parade organizers were forced to consider the possibility of postponing or canceling the parade, which runs through Hagerstown and draws thousands of spectators.