OVERCAST skies and a muddy field did little to deter hundreds of die-hard supporters attending the Pre-Heritage Day Parade last week.The event, which has been the cornerstone of the community events spearheaded by the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, has been going strong for the past 15 years with all of the pomp and pageantry that rivalled that of Wednesday's celebration.

Some 18 participants from the Institute's group homes as well as local community organisations participated in this year's event entitled "Capturing The Movies".

Kicking things off was the contingent from the Scottish Pipe Band, who marched along the parade route and made a couple of laps around the field before giving way to the next attraction, D.J. Shock and Lust, who provided theme music as a bubbly mistress of ceremonies announced the entrants who were poised to showcase their talents.

The first motorised attraction was the train that is normally seen chugging along the city, but was pressed into service, showing off entrants in their fancy hats and depicting scenes from the movie The Color Purple.

The next motorised float from Rosevilla Group home depicted characters from the movie Annie. The Seventh Day Adventist Pathfinder band were 'instrumental' in showing their musical prowess as they accompanied the Group Home residents.

The next entrant was a motorcyclist's dream come true — members of Sauvemente, which is the Spanish word for softness — but when Sauvemente Biker boys and Biker babes roared on the scene it was anything but soft!

The following was from The Chocolate Factory, which featured residents from Lightbourne House imitating the characters from the movie. The next mobile float was New Dimension the Candy Shop, a brightly decorated mini-van.

They were followed by the residents of Boaz Island Group Home who dressed as characters from the Lords of the Rings which drew applause from both the movie buff and casual attendee. Equally entertaining were the Town Hill and George Bay Group Home residents who were dressed as geishas from the movie Memoirs of a Geisha complete with the white face paint and kimonos.

For the past four years the Pembroke Hamilton Club Majorettes and Drum Corps have become an avid supporter of the Institute's Pre-Heritage Day and this year was no exception. The troupe comprised the Precious Pompoms, Junior Cuties, Senior Divas, Fabulous Flags and the Dynamic Drummers.

A PHC Majorette Camp source said the full troupe was not on hand which would have swelled the ranks to over 100. The band gave a peak at the routine that would be performed on Bermuda Day and they lived up to the hype.

The Coral House and Cigna Villa gave their rendition of Ray Charles from the movie Ray. The Raynettes were on hand as the mobile float made a few laps before they used their hit tune Hit The Road Jack and left the field.

One of the smaller entrants was from Keepers Cottage who gave their rendition of the Three Musketeers, although their theme music of Buffalo Soldier seemed incongruous, but nobody seemed to mind, or care for that matter.

The Drumline Band were another inter-gender group comprised of students from across the island. There was nothing fancy but they got the job donewith a tight polyrhythmic session.

Other entrants were from the Mount Hill Group Home with their take on Madea, a metallic figure of the Wizard of Oz's Tin Man from the staff at the recycling plant and the Prospect twirlers.

In an ironic twist, the Douglas Mews entered their float entitled 'Straight Back Mountain'. This drew some nervous titters from the spectators, but everyone appreciated the humour and the detail that went into constructing the float.

The last group of performers for the day needed no introduction as the H&H Gombeys brought the day's festivities to a close.

Big success