Shriners will be taking over the Quinte region this weekend as the Belleville and District Shrine Club hosts the Rameses Spring Ceremonial.
Upwards of 1,500 Shriners and their families will be in the area Thursday through Sunday.
Director General Noble Stephen Shirk says the annual affair moves around the province.
“Well, it’s an opportunity for the new Potentate to bring all his clubs and units and nobility together to celebrate his year. And what that entails is a number of events.”
The ceremonial begins Thursday afternoon with a flag raising at the Catherine St. clubhouse.
Other events include dinners, a golf tournament, and flea market, as well as a special ceremony Saturday morning welcoming new Shrine members.
A highlight will be the parade Saturday afternoon.
“We have 38 clubs and units that are coming to have their specialty vehicles. You have some that are trains and boats, and of course, fire trucks and little cars and bicycles and scooters.”
The Potentate’s chariot will be pulled by the new Shriners.
The parade begins at 1:00 p.m., departing from Parkdale Baptist Church on Sidney Street and travelling down Sidney Street to the old fairgrounds property on Bridge/Sidney.
At another event, a local Shriners child that received support will speak about her experiences at the Shrine Hospital in Montreal.
He says that’s what being a part of the Shrine Club is all about.
“We do all the fundraising, monies to support all the children going to Shrine Hospitals for Children with no cost to the families, no cost to the parents.”
Shirk says they have an excellent committee that’s been working for months to host the ceremonial.
There are currently about 100 Shrine members in Belleville.
The Belleville Club has been around for more than a century beginning in October 1921.
