Three members of the Henricus Citie Militia were honored to be Grand Marshals for the 20^th Annual James River Parade of Lights on December 8, 2012.  Dennis Strawderman, portraying Sir Thomas Dale, Ron Blackburn, Captain of Henricus Militia River Commerce, and Megan Strawderman as part of her college internship rode downstream aboard the Escapade for the event.

The weather was perfect for the parade and the moonless night made the lights on the 18 participating boats stand out even more for the thousands of onlookers at Rockets Landing, Osborne Landing and at the Citie of Henricus.

The Escapade took first place in the competition for the best decorated boat and the Captain and crew were excellent hosts for our militia members. Six Henricus Citie Militia members attended the event helping to provide entertainment for the crowd of visitors that grew so large that the Park gates had to be closed.

The James River Advisory Council has provided a “History and Fact Sheet” on the event.

For those who are interested please visit their site: www.jamesriveradvisorycouncil.com

Boats decorated with thousands of lights will cruise the James between Richmond and Henrico and Chesterfield for the 20th Annual James River Parade of Lights, sponsored by the regional James River Advisory Council.

This year Sir Thomas Dale, portrayed by Dennis Strawderman, will be the parade Honorary Grand Marshal. Ron Blackburn and Megan Strawderman will be aboard the boat as well. It will be hard to beat the parade’s previous Grand Marshals that have included such notables as the Nutzy the Flying Squirrel.

Multiple viewing sites, several of which provide additional entertainment, make it easy for people throughout the region to view this spectacular holiday tradition on the James. Spectators will be able to enjoy the parade and experience a colonial Christmas presented by historical interpreters at Henricus Historical Park. Colonial Christmas activities begin at 6:00 p.m. with viewing of the boat parade from 7:30-8 p.m. The event begins December 8, 2012 Saturday. For more information visit henricus.org

This year’s Publick Days celebration was the best in recent memory with the Henricus Citie Militia providing cooking, musketry, armor and cannon firing demonstrations in the fort while another contingent of the Militia interpreted nautical instruments at the dock by the Phoenix.

To view images taken from the 2012 Publick Days event please visit our Image Gallery. Thanks to Jim Byrd for also taking some amazing high quality pictures.

Militia members performed Here Comes the Judge, which has always been well received by visitors, with Mike Bell reprising his role as the judge. Matthias Brooks was awarded a matchlock musket and the King’s coin for his years of service to Henricus and for coming of age to fire weapons at the Park.

There was a spectacular Grand Salvo from four cannon in the fort, answered by the bronze guns on the Phoenix from down over the bluff by the dock. Jonathon Courtney agreed to put on a full suit of 17th century armor for the Henricus Militia armor demonstration that fit him so well that he didn’t want to take it off. Most of the many visitors attending the demonstration said they had never seen anything like it before.

The Phoenix, a replica of a 17th century coastal trading vessel, never looked better and sailed away with Ron Blackburn at the helm before a good sized crowd of park visitors late Sunday afternoon under full sail. The crew fired a final cannon salute upon leaving, heading downstream to avoid approaching inclement weather much in the tradition of actual 17th century sailors.

Lamar Banister entertained and educated the public down on the dock all day long on Saturday as only he can. Lara and Hanna Brooks provided cooking demonstrations throughout the weekend and excellent 17th century cuisine for militia members. No one has more knowledge of the original settlement of Henricus and experience when it comes to period cooking than Lara Brooks.

Equally important to the goals of the Militia, five new members attended the weekend event and expressed interest in returning. They were trained to fire the matchlock musket by the militia Sergeant Paul Carter who was awarded a sash to distinguish his rank during the weekend.

The contributions of all the interpreters at the park were appreciated and on Wednesday October 10, 2012, members of the Henricus Militia were honored to represent Henricus Historical Park before a meeting of the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors who made it official by recognizing the success of the 2012 Publick Days event.

The Militia will be attending the Haunted Henricus: Things that Go Bump In the Night event on October 19th and 20th, 2012. The militia will also be representing Henricus for the Midlothian Day Parade Saturday, October 20th at 9:00 am.

Members of the Militia will parade through the streets of Midlothian, Virginia in a 1929 Rolls Royce Phantom open tourer almost identical to the Maharaja of India’s shooting car (other than the color) from almost 100 years ago!

For more information on Haunted Henricus visit the events page or view the www.henricus.org PDF memo.

For more info on the Midlothian Day Parade 2012 visit www.midlothiandayparade.org or on twitter @MidloParade.

In other news, members of the Henricus Militia were honored to represent Henricus Historical Park before a meeting of the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors who officially recognized the success of the 2012 Publick Days event.

Henricus Park has also been Voted “2012 Best Park” by readers of Richmond.com–Best Park in City of Richmond and the counties of Hanover, Henrico and Chesterfield.
You can read more at www.richmond.com & www.villagenewsonline.com

The long awaited Henricus 400th anniversary, Publick Days and the Godspeed, was a complete success.

I have found amazing pictures of this event taken by one photographer, Dave Parrish.

You can see photos of all the activities and events that took place at his website.

The Henricus 400th Anniversary Image Gallery.

Signing off for now,
Dennis Strawderman.