SUMMER IN THE CITY: Omar Shriners' Summer Ceremonial takes place this weekend in Orangeburg
By T&D STAFF Thursday, August 07, 2008The population of Orangeburg will grow a bit in the next couple of days, at least temporarily.
An estimated 400 Shriners and their families will descend upon the area for the annual Omar Shriners' Summer Ceremonial this weekend.
Hosted by the Edisto Shrine Club, 25 to 30 new members from the coastal counties of South Carolina will be inducted as Shriners, said Bobby Bruner, event coordinator and past potentate.
The weekend festivities will also include a golf tournament at Orangeburg Country Club. The public is invited to sign in at 7 a.m. Friday, Aug. 8, and tee time is 8:30 a.m. A trophy presentation and lunch will follow the tournament.
On Saturday, Aug. 9, miniature cars, clowns, cowboys and motorcycles will take part in a parade at 10 a.m., beginning at the entrance to the Edisto Memorial Gardens. The parade route will travel through downtown Orangeburg on Russell Street and end at All-Star Triangle Bowl.
"We would love to have a big crowd on the street," Bruner said.
The first Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children was established in the early 1920s, using a $2-per-member annual assessment. Today, the Shriners support 21 hospitals for children with orthopedic burns, Bruner said. All medical expenses are free to patients and families.
"Our payment is the opportunity to know that we are helping kids," Bruner said.
The closest Shriners' hospital to the Orangeburg community is Greenville Shriners Hospital.
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