Masons' Wreath Ceremony - Detroit

Video Pursuit

Masons' Celebration at Mariner's Church

Detroit Video Daily was out chasing the Good Year blimp on a cloudy Sunday afternoon when the sound of bagpipes caught his attention. The Good Year blimp was in town for the Red Wings game at the Joe Louis arena. The Wings were chasing their 23rd straight home victory, and the blimp was circling the Ren Cen area downtown.  I grabbed my flip cam, hopped in the buggy and motored down East Jefferson in hopes of getting some video footage of the blimp.  Luck was on my side, and I happened upon a parking spot right on Jefferson across from the Ren Cen.  At any rate, you may be wondering what the sound of bagpipes had to do with all of this.  Let me explain...

A Bagpipe Surprise
One of the reasons I love Detroit is that there really is a lot of interesting things going on practically every day. Sometimes being in the right place at the right time allows you to see or experience something new, and Sunday was one of those right place at the right time moments. I was trying to capture some video of the Good Year blimp but wasn't having much success. The cloudy sky and not quite being able to position myself in the right spot at the river front or by the Ren Cen just added to my frustration.  As I was filming though, I heard the beginning notes of a song from a bagpipe.  I stop filming and turn around to see a guy decked out in a kilt with a bagpipe in hand.  Definitely not your daily occurrence in downtown Detroit.

Presidents Day
I ask him if he is going to be playing a concert and gesture toward the Ren Cen. He tells me no but that he will be leading a procession to place a wreath at the statue of George Washington that is located in front of Mariners Church.  He tells me he is a Mason.  I quickly realize that Monday is Washington's Birthday and connect the dots to the wreath ceremony to honor the first president George Washington.  Not knowing much about Masons, I wasn't sure if they would all be wearing kilts (they weren't), but I did learn that the first president of the United States was a Mason, so it made sense for them to place the wreath at his statue.  One of the Masons did a brief reading from a book as part of the ceremony, and then it was over.  Life in Detroit - there's always something going on.