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What is it about a parade that most everyone loves? Is it the music, or the floats, or the crowd’s energy? Whatever the attraction, get ready for the annual America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration on Saturday, Nov. 23. Plymouth’s biggest parade is part of a weekend of holiday events that attract hundreds of thousands of people to town.
The festivities kick off on Friday, Nov. 22, with the Plymouth Philharmonic’s “Sense and Sensibility” concert at 7 p.m. led by the orchestra’s assistant conductor Neal Hampton and featuring guest singers. Hampton’s own works will be part of the show – music he wrote for “Sense and Sensibility: The Musical.” Tickets are $40, and you can buy them here.
Then it’s on to parade day. If the prospect of trying to find parking seems daunting, don’t worry, there are options. You can park in the expansive lot at the Plymouth County Courthouse at 52 Obery St., or at the Kingston MBTA lot off Exit 17. Free shuttle buses will run every 15 minutes so you can make it to the parade without experiencing parking angst.
Even if you can’t get there in person, the parade will be broadcast on WCVB, Channel 5 from 10 a.m. to noon, and rebroadcast on Thanksgiving Day. You can also stream the parade through the VeryLocal or on the America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration website.
Opening ceremonies begin at 9 a.m. at Plymouth Rock on Water Street, and the parade steps off from there at 10 a.m. The parade route goes south on Water Street up to Main Street Extension, to Main Street, then to Court Street. It ends at the intersection of Court with Nelson Street. Plan where you want to stake your claim to the perfect viewing spot.
This year’s theme is “Inspiring the Next Generation,” which seems particularly timely. Floats are arranged chronologically, starting with (naturally) one representing the first Thanksgiving. Other floats will honor important anniversaries, including the attempt to move Plymouth Rock in 1774, when citizens wanted to preserve the stone, but split it apart in the process.
There will also be a float recognizing the 200th anniversary of Pilgrim Hall Museum – the oldest continuously operating museum in the country.
Another float will honor military veterans by featuring “Taps,” which is150 years old, and D-Day, at 80 years old. You can try not to cry, but it might be a struggle.
High school bands will also be featured in the parade, and America’s Hometown Express Train will chug by – accepting donations of nonperishable foods which the Greater Plymouth Food Warehouse will distribute.
The festivities don’t end when the parade does. From 10 a.m. until about 4 p.m. there will be activities on the waterfront, including a food truck alley, with a variety of food choices, a children’s pavilion with art projects, a petting zoo, and more, and a Portal to the Past Historic Village, where reenactors will bring history to life. There will even a beer and wine tent you can visit for a $5 entry fee.
Cap off the day at 6:30 p.m. with a patriotic concert at Memorial Hall performed by drum and bugle corps from across the country, including the “Commandant’s Own” United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps. Tickets are $40 and available here or by calling 508-746-8008.
If Saturday’s festivities put you in the mood for more, come back on Sunday, Nov. 24, for a Harvest Market on the waterfront from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s like the guest that you don’t want to say goodbye to, a chance to savor the holiday spirit for a little bit longer, as you prepare for your own Thanksgiving feast.
For even more information about the parade, go here.
Monday, November 18
The Plymouth Lodge A.F. & A.M., 116 South Meadow Road, invites the public to attend a free event on the True History of Thanksgiving at 6 p.m. Hartman Deetz, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and a Freemason, is the featured speaker. Deetz has spent more than 25 years working in environmental advocacy, cultural restoration, and preservation. He writes for Cultural Survival Quarterly, sits on the Seeds of Wisdom foundation’s grant review committee, and serves as a Native Cultural Consultant for the Charles River Watershed Association. Deetz performs internationally with Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers and is the owner-operator of Ockway Bay Wampum, a cultural arts and education company.
The acclaimed film “Small Things Like These” is being held over until at least until Friday, Nov. 22, at Plimoth Cinema, 137 Warren Ave., in the Visitors Center at Plimoth Patuxet Museums. The film stars Cillian Murphy, whose character discovers shocking secrets about a convent in town, as well as hard truths about himself. “A Real Pain,” a drama/comedy, is also showing and has garnered critical praise. Written, directed and produced by Jesse Eisenberg, it stars Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin playing “mismatched cousins” who team up for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. Needless to say, tensions arise. Film showings are at 4:30 and 7 p.m., and the cinema serves beer and wine on Saturday nights. Admission is $12.50, $11 with a club card, $10 for seniors and members, and $8.50 for seniors with a club card.
Tuesday, November 19
Book Love, at 7 Village Green South, invites the public to a Poetry Night from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Four local poets will share their work for about 10 minutes each. Judith Partelow, Glyn Dowden, Robin Smith Johnson, and Dzvinia Orlowsky, have each published books of poetry as well as other genres. A Q&A and book signing will follow the readings. Tickets are $6, and you can get them here
Wednesday, November 20
The 5 Gallon Challenge for Hunger invites community members and business owners to join Stevie Keith, co-owner of Keith Brothers Plumbing, and other business owners in a food drive to alleviate hunger and put food on tables at a time when such donations are sorely needed. The challenge asks donors to fill a 5-gallon bucket with non-perishable food items, and drop it off at Keith Brothers, 12 Cedarhill Park Drive, Suite 3, before Nov. 20. You can also bring filled buckets to Castle Storage, 20 Pilgrim Hill Drive, today from 12-4 p.m. At 4:15 p.m., a work truck convoy will leave Castle Storage with a police escort and travel through Plymouth to the Plymouth Area Coalition to deliver the donations.
The Plymouth Service Club Alliance – made up of Plymouth Lions, Kiwanis, Sunrise Rotary, and Noontime Rotary Clubs – is running its first Pub Crawl and Scavenger Hunt for a good cause from 5 to 9 p.m. funds raised will benefit Plymouth Fire and Police Relief funds. Start off by registering in front of Town Hall at 26 Court St. from 5 to 6 p.m., before beginning the “crawl,” visiting various restaurants and bars to sample drinks and food. The event will wrap up at Cabby Shack on the waterfront, where participants can enjoy coffee and dessert, and – if you can handle it responsibly – one last drink. Tickets are $25 and you can buy them here.
Experience the charm of a 17th century English village at night with the Plimoth Patuxet Museums’ A World Lit Only by Fire – The English Village After-Dark Experience – from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The event starts at the Visitor Center and from there takes a walking tour back in time to a world far from busy streets and the glare of brightly lit buildings. In the 1620 Village, the sound of singing echoes in the darkness, and farm animals rest quietly in their pens for the night as you’re welcomed into a cottage to sit by a cozy fire and be entertained with stories and songs from Alice Bradford. Members tickets are sold out, but non-members can get tickets for $15 (plus a fee of $1.74) here.
Friday, November 22
Kicking off America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration at Memorial Hall, the Plymouth Philharmonic will feature “Sense and Sensibility,” a concert at 7 p.m. led by the orchestra’s assistant conductor, Neal Hampton. For more details, see the lead item in this column.
Singer-songwriter Caitlin Canty will perform at the Spire. Canty plays a variety of folk, blues, and country ballads, and has put thousands of miles on her songs and singing, touring throughout the states and Europe. “Motel Bouquet,” her third record, features 10 original songs that highlight her voice which was called “casually devastating” by the San Francisco Chronicle. Doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $22.50 and $28. You can get them here.
Saturday, November 23
America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration – the parade and surrounding events – starts with opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. See the lead item for more information.
Need a little laughter, with a Boston accent? Comedian Steve Sweeney, who’s been described as the “undisputed king of Boston comedy” performs at the Spire at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m. Sweeney can riff on all types of Boston characters and accents and has performed nationally as a stand-up and in TV sitcoms and movies. Tickets are $22.50 and $25, and you can buy them here.
Sunday, November 24
Book Love presents Arlene Dijamco, integrative physician and author of the book “I Am Intuitive.” Dijamco will give a talk and sign books from 11 a.m. to 12 noon. Her book provides real patient stories, practical exercises, and other tips to access your intuitive know-how. Find out more about the event here.
America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration continues with a Harvest Market at the waterfront from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Come to the market to browse fresh produce, preserves, meats, eggs, and more at the waterfront. Enjoy the Bobby Paluzzi Music Show, face painting, and other offerings from Rye Tavern and Duke’s Beach House.
Monday, November 25
The Short Takes Book Club meets at the Plymouth Public Library at 132 South St., from 6 to 7 p.m. This is the club for those who don’t want to have to read a 300-page (or more) book every month. The genres change each month (fiction, nonfiction, short story, poetry…) but this month the group is reading “When the Emperor Was Divine” by Julie Otsuka – novel about one of America’s ugliest chapters – a Japanese internment camp during World War II.
Wednesday, November 27
Party with Hitch & Jimmy C and Total Strangers. They will play at New World Tavern, 56 Main St., on the night before Thanksgiving. Hitch & Jimmy C are part of 3rd Left, a local band. They’ll play from 6 to 9 p.m. Total Strangers, another Plymouth rock and soul band, are scheduled to perform at 9 p.m. There’s no charge to join the party.
Thursday, November 28
While other towns have the hackneyed “Turkey Trot” label for their Thanksgiving run, here in Plymouth it’s the Running of the Pilgrims, a 5K race, from 7:30 to 9 a.m., starting at Pilgrim Memorial Park on Water Street. Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for students, $20 for seniors, and $20 for children 10 and under through Nov. 26. Tickets go up $5 in each category on Nov. 27 and 28. You can get tickets and register here.
At 10 a.m., witness costumed reenactors in the annual Pilgrim Progress representing survivors of the settlers’ first winter here as they march to the beat of a drum down North Street, along Water Street past Plymouth Rock, and up Leyden Street to Burial Hill, where a brief Pilgrim worship service will follow at the original fort/meeting house. There will be hymns and readings from sources like Governor Bradford. Then the participants will continue to march down Main Street and end up at the Mayflower Society House.
The annual National Day of Mourning rally and march begins at noon on Coles Hill above Plymouth Rock, sponsored by the United American Indians of New England. The event, which may last until 3 p.m., aims to inform the public about the true history of indigenous people and the harm that colonial settlers brought to their nations, as well as to honor native people. For many native people, Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of their own, the theft of their lands, and the erasure of their culture. Organizers say the event is also a protest against the racism and oppression that indigenous people continue to experience worldwide. Find out more here.