every year in our neighborhood (Charlestown), and given that we live on Bunker Hill Street, on Bunker Hill, our house is smack dab on the parade route. There is also an annual 8K race that went along with it, and we're kicking ourselves that we didn't sign up. Everyone looks to have had a great time; count us in for next year!The tradition of the Bunker Hill Day parade apparently dates back to 1786. The June 20th edition of the American Recorder and Charlestown Advertiser reported that almost 20,000 Bostonians led by Governor Bowdoin had marched from the State House to Bunker Hill. Their march led them by many of the still burned out buildings that had been old Charlestown. (During the battle, the British cannons, firing from Copp’s Hill in the North End, and Royal Navy ships, firing from the mouth of the Charles River, had started fires that had burned every one of the almost 300 hundred houses in Charlestown to the ground.) Throughout the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, and now in the twenty-first century, the parade has continued every year to honor commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill. On June 17, 1825 the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument was laid before a crowd of over 100,000 persons. The guests of honor were the Marquis de Lafayette, General Washington’s Aide de Camp, and 40 actual veterans of the battle, some still carrying the muskets that they had used 50 years before. Daniel Webster gave the keynote address. The Bunker Hill Monument was actually dedicated on June 17, 1843, and the parade’s guest of honor that year was President John Tyler. About six weeks ago, the National Park Service completed a renovation of the lighting on the Bunker Hill Monument, and it is now beautifully lit and stunningly visible from around the city (and our roof deck!). You can read the Boston Globe story by clicking here.The parade was so fun, especially having it go by our house.
There were a ton of people lined up to watch it, and everyone was having a good time. People brought chairs, coolers, and all the usual parade regalia. The parade was full of all the patriotism and Americana that it should be, and one particular hightlight was all of the Navy guys from the world famous U.S.S. Constitution (Old Ironsides) which is permanently decked in Charlestown and quite the tourist attraction for just about anyone who visits Boston. (See photo, right.) Also marching were Boston mayor Tom Menino, all of Boston's high school marching bands (and those of surrounding towns), every branch of the military, colonial reenactments, all the fire department divisions, and so on.
Afterwards, barbecues and parties were going on all over Charlestown, and right now, at after 8 p.m., you can hear them still going. We decided that it was a big mistake to not have scheduled a barbecue for today and invited people over, so we will have to rectify that problem 
next year. We did manage to fire up the barbecue for two steak salads in the spirit of the whole thing, though. Brian took a lot of pictures from across the street, so you can see our house (the green colonial) in the background of several photos, such as the one above, left. We also took several pictures, like the one right, from our roof deck. For more pictures, click here.
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