Shriners plan downtown parade

One of the highlights of spring last year in Mount Airy was a first-ever colorful and entertaining parade downtown by the Shriners organization, which will be repeated this coming Saturday.

The procession, billed as a civic parade, is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. from PNC Bank near the intersection of North Main Street and East Independence Boulevard. It will head through the central business district and turn right on West Pine Street.

Spectators can expect to see much the same as with last year’s parade, Surry Shrine Club President Keith Osborne said Monday.

That procession lasted more than 30 minutes, featuring bands, clowns and other costumed characters, mini-vehicles, folks dressed as hillbillies, muscle cars and more.

“It’s really cool,” Osborne said of the kind of parade on tap, which could be rescheduled in the event of severe weather.

The parade will be part of the Oasis Shriners Spring Ceremonial, basically an annual convention of the organization which is being held in Mount Airy for the second-straight year.

Hundreds of Shriners are expected from clubs in other areas of North Carolina, which Osborne says covers a vast territory stretching from Greensboro west.

“Anywhere from around 500 to 1,000,” he said of the potential attendance for this weekend’s Oasis Shriners Spring Ceremonial, which begins Friday and runs through Sunday.

The Shriners leadership first picked Mount Airy to hold the gathering last year for much the same reason as others come here.

“The whole vibe in town with Andy Griffith and all that,” Osborne said of the local Mayberry mystique.

While here, the Shriners are expected to take in such sights along with organizational and business-related activities including the introduction of new members.

Other leisure time will be spent playing golf at Cross Creek Country Club, along with attending lunch and dinner events.

The Shriners organization is about 150 years old, according to Osborne. It is characterized as “a fraternity based on fun, fellowship and the Masonic principles of brotherly love and relief to others in need.”

Shriners are most known for supporting hospitals for children which provide care regardless of a family’s ability to pay or insurance status.

The Shriners often are readily identifiable by the red fez, or hat, with a black tassel which they wear, one of the group’s most-distinctive symbols that has been handed down through the ages.

Derived from the city of Fez, Morocco, it was chosen as the official headgear of the fraternity to complement the organization’s pomp and pageantry, theme, ceremonies and events, according to historical information on the Shriners.

Hampton Inn is the host hotel for the Oasis Shriners Spring Ceremonial, with other activities scheduled at Mount Airy High School.