In Capitol Hill, there is a great institution, the Marine Barracks. I wrote about their weekly parades prior.
Every Friday night, crowds start to gather at 7pm for a seat at the 8:45pm Parade. If you are expecting to be in Washington DC on a Friday evening in 2015, see their 2015 schedule here; this year, May 1, 2015 to August 28, 2015.
Tickets have been sold out for the summer, but I knew I could get in line at 7pm or so and see if I could get into General Admission (that would be the stands I photographed in the prior post), which are at the far end of festivities. This was June 12, 2015 and there'd been a slight rain during the dinner hour. Being grateful for the 15-20 degree drop in the temperature was tempered with the concern that surely there would yet be more downpours as the evening progressed. The calculation was that everyone would be spooked and not show up which meant we'd get seats and it would be much less muggy than any subsequent weeks in the summer.
We went, and it was perfect. My (naturalized) American heart swelled with pride. The actual event is from 8:45-10:15pm, but the Marine kept up entertained and engaged. Each week, the guest of honor is different. This particular week, it was Congressman Mac Thornberry, from the 13th District in Texas. He is the Chairperson of the Armed Services Committee in the US House, which would give everyone involved just a little extra reason to be on target.
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Walking towards the Marine Barracks, this is the Commandant's House Local lore has this home being haunted by the 1st Commandant. This was the original structure, built during the Jefferson adminiastration in 1803. |
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The entire Marine Corps Barracks is itself a Historic Distict in DC, and this home itself is a National Historic Landmark. Surely this will protect this part of the neighborhood from being developed. |
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The buildings in the foreground are The leftmost building, Officer's Club is reserved to invited guests. |
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As the crowds came in, these two gentlemen kept us engaged with games and crowd engagement. To the right are some of the barracks, though there are several other buildings off this Quad, within a few city blocks. |
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More entertainment, though I did stop filming when they truly started. The Silent Drill, where the entire platoon works through their repertoire without any verbal commands is simply mesmerizing. |
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The Marine Corp Barracks flag, waving in the breeze. God Bless America. |
There are still another several weeks of Parades (every Friday until Aug. 28, 2015).
Alternatively, there are performances
- 8pm Wednesdays at the US Capitol, West Terrace
- 8pm Thursdays at the Washington Monument
- July 18 & August 15 at the Chamber Orchestra at NOVA (3001 Beauregard St, Alexandria, VA)
- October 2, 11, 18, 25 at the Sousa Band Hall (7th & K St SE, Washington, DC)
Truly a talented group of people, they can be reached at (202) 433-4011 or (202) 433-5809 or email.
During the show, several friends and family members came to mind. Those that visit us often enough, after several visits, we need to start considering less "touristy" sites as destinations. This one was added to several future visits.
If you want to be able to live in this neighborhood and have this be a weekly event in your local social calendar, reach out to me and let's see how you can fit in this wonderful Capitol Hill, a very welcoming village if you truly think about it and get to know us all.
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