Marine Barracks Parade

Check another one off of the DC Bucket List!  Every Friday night during the summer months, the Marine Barracks Washington (also known as "8th and I" due to its location) hosts a public Evening Parade featuring the U.S. Marine Band, U.S. 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 (a bulldog).

The one hour and fifteen minute event is packed with great hats (above) and patriotic tunes (below).
 

We were in awe of the precision and discipline of the hundreds of marching Marines...

and spellbound by the skill of the Silent Drill Platoon.

If you want to get in on the patriotic action, you can go online and request a free ticket here.  There are still slots left for July and August, but don't delay!  We booked online in March for a reservation in May.  If you can't plan that far ahead, you can show up at the General Admission line at the Main Gate and take your chances that they'll have room for you once the ticketed groups have been seated.
 

Don't miss your chance to view one of DC's best free hidden gems.

Second Thoughts from B

My mother loves pomp and circumstance more than anyone I know.  Much more.  She is the one person who looks forward to those interminable graduation ceremonies just because that means she'll get to hear an extra 45 minutes of the graduation march.  Add highly decorated uniforms and intricately choreographed rifle tossing to the military band's soundtrack, and she's more giddy than a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert.

I can't say that J or I share my mother's immense enthusiasm, but we sure appreciate the pageantry, precision, and patriotism of the Marine Corps that is on display every Friday night.  But putting all alliteration aside (see what I did there!), you can't call yourself a Washingtonian until you've spent a night at 8th and I.  In many ways, our city is built on a long history of proud military tradition.  To get a chance to celebrate it through live music on a warm summer night makes you pull those shoulders back, stand up straight, and be proud of your country.  Or maybe that's just the influence of the latest Chevy commercial. Either way, the Evening Parade is just one more (free!) thing that makes DC a special place.