Plenty of Passion at Bermuda Day parade

The colours, sights and sounds of Bermuda were vibrant in the Heritage Day Parade.

Colourful costumes, beautiful floats and energetic music were on display at the annual event today.

Hundreds of spectators lined the streets of Hamilton to catch the annual event.

The parade began at 1:30pm from Bernard’s Park and the last entry passed this reporter toward the bottom of Court Street after 6pm.

It started with Warner Gombeys and ended with Gombey Warriors, a sure fire to way to get the party going and keep it going all day long.

Other entries included majorettes dressed in colourful costumes – PHC, PCC and Ex-Artillery Elite.

There were also a slew of dance groups such as Fusion Fitness, Take the Lead, Hay Smitty and St George’s Dancerettes.

The Dragon Girls also performed for the last time after ten years in the parade.

One group that received loud applause was the Sandy’s Secondary Middle School Showtime Drumline.

The drummers were able dance while playing, much to the delight of the crowd.

There were also dancers at the front of the group.

Not to be outdone were the beautiful, floral floats by The Bermuda Hospital Charitable Trust, Bermuda Sloop Foundation, Vasco Da Gama, Progressive Labour Party, Sandys Secondary Middle School and many more.

One Bermudian tradition that is seen every year in the parade is when spectators get out of their seats and follow the Gombeys to the end of the parade.

The beats of the drums get the crowd on their feet and dancing for the rest of the day.

One new entry to the parade did just that and more

Passion, a big soca truck, had close to 200 people dancing in front and behind it.

DJs D’General and Rusty G had their Passion members and the crowd dancing to the music and following the truck.

Passion provided a carnival-style environment to the parade along with the Carnival Revellers in their costumes.

After four and a half hours of Bermudian culture and traditions, the Heritage Day Parade was done.