Grand Assembly 2018

On July 29th, 2018, Fairfax Assembly left for Grand Assembly. Those in attendance were Lorkin, Kayley, Paige, Mom Sherry, Mom Leslie, Katie, and myself. I had a lot of fun sharing a room with my Assembly sisters, and seeing all of my friends from other assemblies. We had Grand Choir practice, Grand Flag practice, Grand Representatives’ practice, and Lorkin and I even carried flags in the Cavalcade of Flags. The first session was really special, as I had the opportunity to give a tribute to the American Flag, and carry it.

That night, we had the Grand Representatives’ costume parade! It was so fun, and there were some amazing costumes.

On Saturday, we attended the Initiation, and Lorkin and I went to the Grand Representative and Grand Officer luncheon. It was so much fun, and we spent a lot of time laughing. After that, we performed the Cavalcade of Flags, and Mom Renn even jumped in! Once the Session was over, we went to the Grand Banquet. Lorkin got 2nd Place in the Costume Parade, our Assembly won 3rd in the Scrapbook Competition, and we now have 2 Flag Bearers, and 2 Grand Representatives.

On Sunday, we got up early for the Installation, and Lorkin and I were installed as Grand Representatives. I am so excited for this Grand Year, and I know it will be so much fun!

Until next year,

Zoë, Fairfax Assembly #3

Ohio Grand Assembly Saturday July 14, 2018

Ohio Grand Assembly starts early!  Breakfast is from 7 – 8 am and you need to arrive dressed for the morning session since that starts right after.  There are so many differences in Ohio Rainbow.  In Ohio as a Grand Representative I am considered a Grand Officer and so are Grand Flag Bearers and Grand Pages.  They have a trumpet call to order at the beginning of each session which is followed by the Supreme Deputy and all the Grand Deputies being escorted in by Grand Escorts that they choose.  Then the visiting grand officers are brought in and seated in the east.  Once that is done then the Grand Officers come in and do a huge marching number to different songs and they have props that go with the theme for the year.  Grand pages then collect all the props and then they go to their seats.  Then the GWA has an honor court that she walks through before she gets to the east.  It really is an impressive show.  After that I got to speak to everyone.  They then showed some ritual work and gave out the mascot awards to the different assemblies.  Once that was over there was the Courtesy to the GWA.  In VA we have the signing of the memory book, but in OH it is where they give gifts to the GWA and the Grand Officers say good-bye to her.  Kate received a quilt showing her theme for the year, a memory box, several scrapbooks for all of her travels, a special gift from her Grand Aide, and a hope chest to store all of it.  Her aide also gave her a tiara since Ohio doesn’t use crowns.

Following the morning session was lunch and then there was some down time for people to change into their Superteam clothes (each team had matching t-shirts and some even had matching hair accessories).  We made another trip to the campus bookstore before going to the competition.  Each district makes a team and then there was a team for the out-of-state visitors.  Zoey was on that team and competed in the balloon tossing contest and got second place!  Afterwards we realized we were running low on snacks so we made a trip to the next town over to go to Walmart and then change before going to dinner and the evening session.

The evening session was the installation of the new grand officers.  It was different from Virginia because they have two installing marshals.  It makes things move much faster.  Also, not all of the Grand Installing Officers are past GWAs – just the installing officer and the first installing marshal.  It was fun to watch.  The new GWA’s name is Shelby and her theme this year is:  Bows, Pearls and Rainbow Girls.  Her mascot is “Pearl the Pig” and her colors are: lavender, antique blue, mint green and peach.  Her service/charity project is M.A.D.D. and they will be selling Malley’s Chocolate Bars for the send Rainbow Girls to Grand Assembly scholarship fund.  We were given gift bags for attending the OH Grand Assembly too!  After the installation was over it was a race to get into line for pins, t-shirts, mason jars, and candy bars for this new Grand Year.  Once we were done with that we caught a shuttle back to the dorm so we could change and get some sleep for the night.

Isabella

On August 6th, Hampton Assembly attended a youth function put on by the Knights Templar. They threw a pizza party for the youth groups and there was an amazing turnout! So many people from Job’s Daughters, DeMolay, and Rainbow showed up. There were even multiple people from different assemblies, chapters and bethels. I was absolutely amazed by the support from our Masonic youth groups and it was wonderful to hang out with so many of my friends all together. After lunch we went to the Casemate Museum for a tour. Our large group split up into smaller groups and went together to each stop. The tour guides showed us many interesting artifacts and knew lots of history about Fort Monroe. We even got to go inside the church and meet a woman who had ancestral ties to the building. It was very fun to get together and tour the historical heritage that is right in our backyard! 

With Rainbow Love and Service, 

Lauren Ann

Masonic District Lodge Picnic July 21, 2018

Manassas Assembly and several other Masonic Organizations were invited to the Masonic District Lodge Picnic on July 21, 2018.  It started with games that needed to be brought in because of the rain.  There were plenty of people who had their faces painted.  Lunch was served around noon and the food was really good.  The Masons had an open meeting where it was fun to watch and the youth groups were recognized.  After the meeting we had cupcakes and then helped to clean up so we could then decorate for the Rainbow Installation the next day.

Isabella