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NEW HOPE - LAMBERTVILLE WINTER FEST 2010
NJ - PA

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January 30, 2010.  Paddy and I revisited Winterfest and stopped for coffee at the New Hope Starbucks at the foot of the Lambertville-New Hope bridge.

 

Ten minutes after noon, we carried our hot beverages into the street and saw the beginning of the parade. George Washington and General Lafayette were approaching us, followed by the school band, the cub scouts and the M&M girls.  We walked up the street, away from the main crowd so we could get unobstructed photos.

              

 

The Uptown String Band entertained the crowd with the Mummers music and the costumes.  The band had a bass saxophone to fill in the "low end".

         

 

There were numerous floats and each one was throwing candy toward the kids.  Lots of kids groups marched, including dance troops and various academies.

              

         

 

The parade moved right along with no gaps, unlike most parades which stretch the time by a factor of 2.  Next was the Greater Kensington String Band with one of the musicians carrying a full size string bass.

              

 

The third and last string band was the Woodland String Band.  All of these bands march in the famous Philadelphia Mummers Parade every January 1st.  One of the members had a brand new Selmer Bass Sax ($15,000), awesome !

         

 

We decided to follow the Woodland String Band across the bridge.  Along the way, believe it or not, we met Washington crossing the Delaware (sorry about that) ..........

    

 

Once across the bridge we saw the "volunteers" the M&M girls and the guy with the dog.

                     

 

The parade ended in Lambertville, NJ so we called on our reservation at the Lambertville Station Restaurant.  Our pleasant hostess provide a nice seat by the window and the restaurant was warm which was great since the outdoor temperature was 19 degrees.  We again met the man on stilts and he recognized us.  We also had our picture taken.

         

 

We had a really good meal and at the end we discovered that the Ice Sculpture guys were outside creating art.  We went out and joined the crowd.

              

 

While doing their work, the guys made all the kids happy and many took home a souvenir.

    

 

The kids also liked getting a blast of superfine ice as the men worked their project.  The men enjoyed accommodating the kids too.

         

 

After seeing the Ice Sculpture, we drove from the Lambertville Station Restaurant, across the bridge to the Triumph Brewery to park.  We walked toward and New Hope Railroad station and took a short tour of New Hope.

    

 

Click HERE to view the 2011 New Hope-Lambertville Winterfest

 

 

 

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