AgMarauder04 said:
justcallmeharry said:
Hug ceremony?? What in the world?
The Washington's Birthday Celebration (WBCA) [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington%27s_Birthday_Celebration#cite_note-1][1][/url] is an almost month-long event held each February in
Laredo, the seat of
Webb County in south
Texas, that celebrates the birthday of
George Washington. It is the largest celebration of its kind in the
United States with approximately 400,000 attendees annually. The celebration consists of various festivals; a Society of
Martha Washington Colonial
Pageant and
Ball,
Princess Pocahontas Pageant and Ball, two
parades, a
carnival, an
air show,
fireworks,
live concerts, "Fun-Fest" at
Laredo Community College, and a citywide
prom during which many of the Laredo
elite dress in Colonial attire. Each year a prominent Laredo man and woman play the roles of George and Martha Washington. One of its main events, the
Jalapeo Festival, has recently been named one of Top 10 eating festivals in the United States.
The celebration was first staged in 1898 by the
San Antonio-based
Improved Order of Red Men, which established the Laredo local chapter called Yaqui Tribe #59. Much earlier, former Laredo Mayor
Samuel M. Jarvis (1822-1893), had held a reception at his downtown home in honor of Washington's birthday and had encouraged a larger celebration thereafter, which he never lived to see. Jarvis was a
Republican who had earlier fought in the
Mexican War under General
Zachary Taylor.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington%27s_Birthday_Celebration#cite_note-2][2][/url] To the dismay of many in Laredo, George Washington never visited or even knew of Laredo.
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