Rain Didn’t Dampen This Year’s Lag B’Omer Parade In Albany

It may have been drizzly and rainy, wet and chilly in Albany, NY this Lag BaOmer, but that didn’t stop the Maimonides School from its annual Lag B’Omer Parade.

In honor of Lag B’Omer’s coinciding this year with annual Siyum completion of the Rambam Mishneh Torah study cycle, each class painted banners, each one depicting another of the fourteen Books of Rambam’s Mishneh Torah.

Despite the rain, students were eager and enthusiastic, with good lively cheer, and walked the nearly 1.5 miles from the Maimonides School to Washington Park. Kindergarten students rode in an open trailer, and the first graders refused to turn back, eager to make it all the way. The student drum corps (trained by a recent alumni) kept their beat consistent throughout.

In addition to the usual Albany Police escort, this year an ambulance joined the parade, playing Jewish music from its loudspeaker. Upon arrival at Washington Park, at a break in the rain, the twelve pesukim were recited. When students returned to school they were greeted with hot soup and a magic show.