The Aqua String Band is an all-volunteer string band, best known for its participation in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

's annual

Mummers Parade The Mummers Parade is held each New Year's Day in Philadelphia. Local clubs (usually called "New Years Associations" or "New Years Brigades") compete in one of five categories (Comics, Wench Brigades, Fancies, String Bands, and Fancy Brigades). ...

. The band was founded in 1920, and participated in its first Mummers Parade on

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

in 1921. By 1949, this ensemble was the largest string band to make an appearance in Philadelphia's Mummers' Day Parade.

History

The band was organized on April 2, 1920, by Elmer W. Leyrer and Fred J. Kesel Sr., and was incorporated into the String Band Association in 1945. Kesel introduced the

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

to string bands, which has now become a signature and defining sound. The name, "Aqua", poked fun at the

Volstead Act The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress, designed to carry out the intent of the 18th Amendment (ratified January 1919), which established the prohibition of alcoholic d ...

which banned alcohol under

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

. In addition to Philadelphia area parades, private events and concerts, the group participated in the city of Hazleton's 1949 Mummers' Day Parade, the 2012

St. Patrick's Day Parade Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...

, the 2012

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

' Grand Slam Parade, and the 2011 Hatboro Holiday Parade. In 1987, the group was attempting to purchase Germania Mannerchor clubhouse for their home base.

References

External links

Aqua String Band
{{Authority control Mummers Parade Organizations based in Philadelphia Musical groups established in 1920