Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-09-02
KIPONA ENJOYED BY
BIG HOLIDAY CROWD
IContinucd from First Pagc.l

actresses were assembled and out
lined distinctly the flats on which
the choruses were grouped. The
bands played. the starting signal
was given and the play began, the
people walking from stage to stage
along the river front to view the pa
geant. Then came the boat parade,
q thing of beauty and long to be
remem bered, with the thousands OF
little lanterns turning the scene in
to fairy landscape, and after that
the fireworks.
The Pageant
The admiral and his staff swung
down along the river between The
long row of decorated flats and the
steps. Every !nche of space Was
taken both on the boats and the
shore from the lighthouses to the
Walnut street bridge and the bridge
itself was filled with people from
the shore to the island. Not only
were the steps themselves filled, oat
thousands of persons lined the top
of the bank and every open space in
the shrubbery between the park line
and the top of the steps was occU-
pied by interested groups, while less
the top of the steps filled like all
Atlantic City boardwalk scene at
Easter. The wisdom of the Board
of Public Works in giving the city
this wonderful amphitheater was
apparent to everybody on the river
last night. Said an Army officer iii
the admiral's launch: II have been
all over the world, from the Phil
ippines to Venice, and l never seen
anything more beautiful than this,
while q little later when the boat
parade was in progress, Thomos
Kelker, one of the men largely re-
sponsible for the success of the
Kipona idea in Harrisburg, cN-
pressed the same views. II have
witnessed boat carniVals in Venice
and elsewhere in Europe he said,
"but this eXcels any of them"
The flats upon which the band,
the choruses and the pageant scenes
were presented were lined up from
q point near the Walnut street
bridge to the lighthouses, about
three hundred feet of water inter
vening and forming a lagoon with
bridge of flats at South street be-
tween the shore and the main line
of boats over which the 1900 or
more persons who participated ii
the spectacle found their way to
their places. This lagoon was con-
stantly filled throughout the even
:ng by hundreds of canoes, motor
boats and rowboats gaily decorated
and presenting a very beautiful ap-
pearance.
The exercises of the evening be-
gan with the appearance in the sky
of an aviator from the Middletown
Station with whom Colonel Kem-
nd Mahin the h1-
mirals launch exchanged fire sig
nails. The aviator sent out his flares,
signaling that the coast was cleal,
and the Admiral replied that he IN
tended to review the fleet The Adj
miral and his staff were clad in blue
serge coats with ornamental arm
bands, white trousers, white shoes
and yachting caps. They swung
down the line between the shore
and the decorated boats just as
dusk was beginning to fall and tie
flood lights from the shore wefe
thrown upon the pageant scenes and
the flats occupied by those who par
ticipated, the bands which rendered
music during the evening and the
choruses which sang. Most of these
ChoruseS were made up of younS
men and women in costumes signih-
cant of some period in the city's
history. There were Indians in holt
day attire through the kindness of
several of the tribes of Redmen of
the city who turned out for the pu"-
pose, soldiers, sailors. girl scouts
and two whole natloads of colored
jubilee singers who rendered most
admirably n program made up of
the compositions of the noted mu-
sicians of their race. Admiral Bow
man sent a detail of his staff eS-
pecially to hear this chorus sing and |
the detail returned with the report
that in it's judgment the colored !
singers could not be excelled by |
any community chorus ever organ
lied in Harrisburg. The War Cam1 |
Community Service was verify largely |
responsible for this magnificent |
showing. All of the singers were Ill
costume and had the position at the |
head of the line.
The program on the flats began
shortly after Admiral Bowman came |
to his flagship at the upper end of
the line and Colonel Kemper had