The Federal Blues participate in many events throughout the year. From the Christmas Celebrations at the Nathaniel Porter Inn in Warren, to The Continental Line Event in Quebec in August. We have participated in the governors inaugurational ceremony, the fourth of July celebration on Block Island, St Patricks day Parades in Newport, the Fall River Celebrates America parade.....and the list goes on. Our group of fifers, drummers, and soldiers adds quite a bang (literally) to any occasion, and we welcome any invitations to events, as well as any inquiries about becoming a member of our militia.We have just kicked off our '99 season with three of our four St Patricks day parades. The first one was held in Pawtucket and ended at the Slater Mill. It was a little chilly, but then again.... St Patricks day parades are notorious for wind chill factors. We had good participation as far as militia members goes, and our new drummer Louie made his shaky debut. (We know he will get better with practice though :O)He will be indespensible as far as public relations goes. He knows everyone, including the dancing cop from providence, and that clown thats at every St Patricks day parade ive ever been to.
Our second parade was one of my personal favorites: Newport St Patricks Day Parade. There is always a great crowd for this one. However....I was the only fife player there besides Sharyn Gillis who can only play Battle Hymn. So....we played battle hymn over... and over.. and over. I as of this moment refuse to ever play the song again. And i refuse to be a solo fife. It just doesnt sound right without at least two or three.
The third parade we preformed in this year was the Worcester parade. This one was amazing, and although it was a long one, and really far away, its always worth attending. We met some real live irish bagpipers from Dublin Ireland, and Yoda was smacked several times with their real live irish bagpipes. They wouldnt show us how to play their pipes, but were curious as to how to make noise out of our pathetic plastic fifes. We are hoping they will be at our next parade so we can snap a few pictures to include on the webpage.
