Parade

You take your good news where you get it and here's mine: the Preakness sent Kegasus packing. You remember Kegasus. Sleaze-ball centaur with the biker haircut and beer gut? Budweiser-swilling centerpiece of the Infield Fest ad campaign the past two years? Gone. Got the proverbial pink-slip. You won't see him Saturday for the 138th Preakness Stakes. "He went back to the islands and I haven't seen him since," Maryland Jockey Club president Tom Chuckas joked the other day. Good thing.

Laurel has undergone many changes since the 1980s, but one thing has remained consistent over the years: the Laurel Board of Trade's annual Main Street Festival. This year's Main Street Festival, the 33rd one overall, will be held on Saturday, May 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Main Street will be closed to traffic between southbound Route 1 and Seventh Street for the festival, which could attract upward of 100,000 people. The festival usually hosts about 300 vendors and service organizations are spread out along the street, said Janet Able, treasurer of the Laurel Board of Trade.

Laurel has undergone many changes since the 1980s, but one thing has remained consistent over the years: the Laurel Board of Trade's annual Main Street Festival. This year's Main Street Festival, the 33rd one overall, will be held on Saturday, May 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Main Street will be closed to traffic between southbound Route 1 and Seventh Street for the festival, which could attract upward of 100,000 people. The festival usually hosts about 300 vendors and service organizations are spread out along the street, said Janet Able, treasurer of the Laurel Board of Trade.

The Havre de Grace High School Warrior Pride Marching Band was chosen to perform in the prestigious Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington, D.C., Saturday, April 13. The marching band auditioned for the parade for the first time and was selected to be a part of a special All-Star Maryland marching band. The Warriors band will be combined with the Westminster High School marching band and the two will have the privilege of leading off the parade, band director Rick Hauf said. The parade travels down Constitution Avenue from the Washington Monument to the White House and is televised live in the D.C. market.

I am a dedicated Democrat, but one has to have some compassion for the Republicans who scheduled their convention in Florida during hurricane season ("Short session but high spirits," Aug. 28). In my circle, the jokes are flying. If the Republicans are that daring, what other chances would they take with our lives if they were in power? Are they gamblers or conservative thinkers? Why did they choose Florida at this time of the year? One of my friends reminded me that in September 2005 the Rev. Pat Robertson and other conservative religious leaders claimed that hurricane Katrina "was sent by God as an omen or a punishment for America's alleged sins.

For some old-fashioned fun, bring the family to the bike decorating contest and parade followed by an ice cream social Friday, June 10, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at the Laurel Armory Anderson and Murphy Community Center, 422 Montgomery St. Kids can decorate their bikes and scooters inside the armory (bike helmets must be worn). Then a parade starts at 7:15 p.m. on Montgomery Street between Fourth and Fifth streets. Ice cream social follows the parade. Sponsored by the Laurel Department of Parks and Recreation, and Laurel Police Department.

Washington ZooLights Spend the holidays with some furry creatures and scaly critters at ZooLights, which features animal sculptures composed of environmentally friendly lights. Animal houses will stay open during this seasonal event, and gingerbread habitats will also be on display. The creations will be on display at the National Zoo from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 14-23, 26-30 and New Year's Day. The zoo will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. For more information, call 202-633-2614 or go to nationalzoo.si.edu.

To Deontae Smith's mother, there was no question her son had been to the Super Bowl parade on Tuesday. And she's upset that Baltimore police didn't make the same connection sooner. Deontae was fatally stabbed outside a McDonald's restaurant at Howard and Fayette streets downtown during a fight involving a large group of teens three blocks from the parade route, police said. Two other teens were also injured, and no suspect has been identified. Baltimore police said Tuesday that the stabbing incidents weren't related to the parade but said Wednesday that they believed Smith had been at the parade.

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A persistent drizzle that occasionally morphed into a driving rain helped China retain its bikini parade crown Saturday, as only 325 women – out of the thousand-plus needed — answered Ocean City 's call to stage its own parade of world-record proportions. Still, spirits were high during the parade, which ran from the Princess Royale on 91st Street north to the Carousel Resort Hotel, a total of some 25 blocks. The weather even cooperated at least a bit when the rain let up just in time for the start at 3:15 p.m. Scores of bikini-clad infants, girls and women, ranging in age from a few weeks to well into their 60s, began the march from beneath U.S. and Maryland flags, cheering and showing off their best beach struts.

My compliments to the organizers of the recent Baltimore St. Patrick's Day Parade ("Thousands line Baltimore Streets for St. Patrick," March 11). It was a great parade, but it was missing one key ingredient: the Ravens marching band - Baltimore's Marching Ravens - was nowhere to be seen! The band and its well-known predecessor, the Colts' Marching Band, has been a staple in this St. Patrick's Day parade for many years. Yet on a beautiful, sunny day, in the year when the Ravens actually won the Super Bowl and the band would have been resoundingly cheered, they were missing.

When De'ontae Smith was fatally stabbed and two friends were injured three blocks from the route of the Ravens' Super Bowl victory parade, police initially said the celebration was unrelated to the violence. As it turned out, the teen had cut school to cheer on the team. Officials have since said they didn't know enough at the time to conclusively link the events. The Baltimore Sun wanted to know: How were various city agencies talking about the stabbing in the minutes and hours after it took place?

St. Patrick's Day Celebration Don your best green outfit for this Irish celebration. Ocean City is hosting their annual St. Patty's Day celebration complete with parade and golf tournament. Sign up for the second annual St. Patrick's Golf Scramble at Eagle's Landing Golf Course and enjoy the luck of the Irish while you play, and a traditional Irish-American Lunch. Also, make sure to head down to Ocean Highway for Ocean City 's annual St. Patrick's Day parade. The St. Patrick's Day Golf Scramble at Eagle's Landing begins at 9 a.m. on March 16. Entry fee is $50 per person, and includes lunch.

He's across the Atlantic from his native Ireland, but Ken Keady was wearing the green Sunday as he bobbed his 3-year-old daughter on his shoulders to see Baltimore's St. Patrick Parade. "It's a great occasion, a lot of color, a lot of flags and lot of music. I come every year," said Keady, now of Towson, with daughter Carolyn waving the Irish flag above his head. Keady pronounced Baltimore's parade as "one of the best I've ever seen" - and he's seen them in Dublin, he said. The Keady family was among thousands of people lining the route for the kilted bagpipe bands and eye-popping string bands, dance troupes, students, classic cars, floats and more.

The flowers left in condolence are a kind but painful reminder that De'ontae Smith is gone, as is the funeral program his mother carries around to remember the boy stabbed to death downtown just hours after the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl victory parade. Chevita Bumbrey and her husband, Donae Wright, have struggled with De'ontae's conspicuous absence. He could usually be found slouching on the couch playing video games or dancing the "mump" to rap music - shuffling wide-legged on the wood floor.

The rhythmic thud of the drum filled the air of Baltimore's Waverly community, alerting residents that something special was taking place in the neighborhood. The joyous sound of children's laughter and eventual singing reinforced the sense of community organizers envisioned when they planned Sunday's parade and subsequent concert in a 25-foot-by-25-foot translucent bubble. "It's whimsical. When people see it, they want to go in and enjoy it," said Seattle-based conceptual artist Nola Elsewhere, who dreamed up the concept of the bubble that housed the singing and music.

Arbutus parade chairman deserves applause for job well done Again this year, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to George Kendrick and his team for organizing a great July 4 in Arbutus. The parade, band and children's activities made for a delightful family day. It was also good to see "Mr. George" riding as one of the grand marshals, along with Jeff Utzinger. A job well done! Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bukszar Catonsville

Ravens mania has moved the Maryland legislature. Both chambers of the General Assembly will start early tomorrow so that lawmakers won't miss the Ravens' Super Bowl victory parade in Baltimore that beings at 10:45 a.m. at City Hall. "If I had my way, everyone would be here at 7 a.m.," joked House Speaker Michael E. Busch. Instead, the House of Delegates will convene an hour early at 9 a.m. The Senate will start a half-hour early at 9:30 a.m., aides said.   

The only questions six years ago when the tradition started in Havre de Grace were why had no one thought of it before, and why did so few people show up for the first one. This year, the event drew a reasonably healthy crowd that was very well-behaved, considering the nature of the festivities, being a traditional last hurrah before the fasting season of Lent. The event, of course, is the Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras Parade that came to full blossom last week on Bourbon Street in Havre de Grace.

Sensing a real chance to abolish the death penalty in Maryland after years of trying, opponents of capital punishment brought a parade of religious, political and civil rights leaders to Annapolis Thursday to urge lawmakers to do away with the ultimate sanction. Roman Catholic Archbishop William E. Lori, testifying before a legislative committee for the first time since taking the helm of the Archdiocese of Baltimore last year, said he had come to Annapolis to throw the church's support behind the repeal effort.