Mule Day (Columbia: buyers, live, military)

[LauraC]

I'll be going to Mule Day in Columbia (with a group) for the first time this year. Any advice on a good place to stand to view the parade and take photos. I'm short. I'll only be there on the day of the parade.

[kamoshika]

Speaking of mules & Tennessee:

Mules are hybrids that have played an important role in the farming, military, and cultural life of Tennessee and the South. This exhibit is a serious and light-hearted look at the mule’s effect on family life and humor.

* Mules are gentle, intelligent beings (some say more so than horses) that are not only hardy and adaptable but are oftentimes considered part of the family.

* Names like Kate, Dinah, Old John, Ike, and Alice reflect the special familial and affectionate relationship between humans and their mules.

* Christopher Columbus brought the first jacks and jennets to New Spain in the Americas. Others followed that created a work force for the conquistadores and the empire’s silver mines.

* Besides being the Father of Our Country, George Washington is also the father of mule breeding in the United States. He started with “Royal Gift,” a jack that was a present from the King of Spain. The general was seeking an animal with the combined good traits of horses and jacks (donkeys). He wanted to populate America with these long eared, long lived, and sure-footed hybrids that could work a field like nothing else.

* Eventually, the Tennessee mule tradition gained an international reputation. British Army buyers went to Columbia and elsewhere to purchase mules during the Boer War in South Africa and World War I for the Western Front.
TSLA: Exhibits: Got Mules?

Good Mule Day parade pic:
http://www.preserveamerica.gov/TN%20...y%20Parade.jpg

Map of the parade route:
http://www.muleday.com/digest/digest_1/page_7.pdf

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by kamoshika

Speaking of mules & Tennessee:

[]

Thanks for all of the good info. I've done some reading on the event but never having been there, I can't place the photos with the actual location of the photographer. We're going to the Polk place, too. Usually when I'm driving myself I'm really anal about finding out all of the details and specific locations in advance, how far what is from what else, which side of the street to stand on so you aren't facing the sun, what time is the best time to arrive to get a good spot, where the best place to park, etc., but when I'm going with a group on a bus and have no control over where I'll be when in a place I've never been to before, I'm like Alice in Blunderland when I arrive. The good thing is next year, if I drive myself, I'll have a better idea of what I want to do.

[alleycat]

There are a few videos on YouTube of Mule Day. It doesn't really look like you would have that much of a problem finding a spot to watch the parade.

Just watch out if the mules stampede!

[JoAnn5]

And watch where u step, after.

[jkmewright]

Ah Laura I envy you! We WERE going to Columbia this year but looks like the family crapped out on me We usually go to Ider AL but I imagine that the Columbia event will be even better. I can't help with the parade since I haven't made it up that way. BUT if you do get to see some shows watch for the James Nail team from Santa Fe and the Scotty2trotty team. These are our favorites to watch. Listen for "Jack and Jack! Jack and Jack! Jack and Jack!" Have fun!!!