The
start times for the Evening Parade are as follows:
(The Evening Parades are conducted on Fridays only)
8:45 p.m. - 10:15 p.m.
Parade Dates for the 2010 Evening Parade Season will be posted by 1 Feb 2010
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A
one hour and fifteen minute performance of music and precision
marching, the Evening Parade features "The President's Own"
United States Marine Band, "The Commandant's Own" The United
States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, the Marine Corps Color Guard,
the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, Ceremonial Marchers,
and LCpl. Chesty XIII, the official mascot of Marine Barracks
Washington.
The ceremony starts at 8:45 p.m., beginning with a concert by
the United States Marine Band. The Evening Parade, held every
Friday evening during the summer, has become a universal symbol
of the professionalism, discipline, and Esprit de Corps of the
United States Marines.
Evening of the Parade Information
Guests with reservations are admitted
beginning at 7:15 p.m. and should arrive no later than 8 p.m.
Guests arriving after 8 p.m. are not guaranteed
their reserved seating. There is no charge for admission.
At the time the reservation is confirmed, a numbered admission
gate is assigned to which guests should report on the evening
of the parade. At 8:15 p.m., guests without reservations who
are waiting outside the Main Gate of the Barracks are offered
unclaimed seats. As a security precaution, all guests entering
the Barracks pass through magnetic detection devices. No weapons
of any kind, including knives, are allowed inside the Barracks.
No food or beverages are allowed except water and baby food/bottles.
History of the Evening
Parade
The "Oldest Post of the Corps," was established in 1801,
and has performed military reviews and ceremonies since its
founding. The present-day Evening Parade was first conducted
on July 5, 1957.
The presidential inaugurations and specific occasions prompted
the parades and ceremonies conducted at the Barracks during
the early 1900s. The traditional reveille and morning muster
parades were conducted with varying frequency at the post, and
they eventually resulted in more formalized ceremonies. In 1934,
when MajGen. John H. Russell, Jr. was the 16th Commandant of
the Marine Corps, the Barracks initiated its first season of
regularly scheduled weekly parades. The parades were conducted
in the late afternoon, usually on Mondays or Thursdays and varied
from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The parades were commonly referred to as
"Sunset Parades." The ceremonies were conducted from April to
November, concluding the week of the Marine Corps Birthday,
November 10.
The basic format for today's Evening Parade was similar to that
envisioned and directed by Col. Emile P. Moses and Maj. Lemuel
C. Shepherd Jr., Marine Barracks' Commanding Officer and Executive
Officer respectively, in 1934. Col. Moses and Maj. Shepherd
(who
later became the 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps),
sighted the symmetry of the parade deck: Bordered on its long
axis by graceful maple trees and shrubs fronting officer's row
and the barracks' administrative offices, to the north of the
picturesque home of the Commandant, and to the south the Marine
Band Hall made famous by the immortal John Philip Sousa. They
conceived a balanced pageant that would perfectly match the
splendor of its old fashioned setting. The shadowy arcade was
envisioned by Major Shepherd, "as wings to a stage, a runway
from which Marines would march to their places on the parade
deck."
Using the resplendent setting of the Barracks, wistful imagination
and the Marines' flare for showmanship, the parades were to
be a showcase for the ceremonial prowess of Marines and the
musical eminence of the U.S. Marine Band, which had achieved
international renown under the premier military band leader
of all time, John Philip Sousa.
In planning the parade sequence and format, Colonel Leonard
F. Chapman Jr., the future 24th Commandant of the Marine Corps,
insisted that the parade adhere to strict regulations. The parade
drill would be without fancy theatrics, which frequently characterized
drill routines of that period. Since its inception, the Evening
Parade has become a unique patriotic tradition of the "Oldest
Post of the Corps". The parade's heritage is entwined with former
military rituals such as tattoo, retreat, and lowering of the
colors ceremonies. The Evening Parade is offered solely to express
the dignity and pride that represents more than two centuries
of heritage for all Americans.
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