The guys in little cars; clowns; marching bands and bagpipers; and the renowned Shrine Circus: it's all about family fun, and has been for well over a century.

The Shriners - members of the Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine - have come to personify fun since their order was founded, in Manhattan, shortly after the close of the Civil War. Now numbering over 600,000 members spread among nearly 200 chapters, or Temples, throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Panama, the first Temple was established in 1872.

In order to join the Shrine, applicants must be Master Masons, members of the ancient order of Freemasonry, but the Shrine was intended to provide a new avenue of "fun and fellowship," and stand in contrast to the more formal and mysterious ritualistic premise of the Masonic movement. The Lewiston chapter, with more than 3,000 members, serves all of Maine south and west of Waterville, (the other Maine Temple, with almost the same membership level, is in Bangor).

The most visible activities supported by the Kora Temple are the Lobster Bowl statewide high school football all star game each spring - in which more than 1,400 players, 300 cheerleaders and 250 coaches have participated in the past 18 years, and which has raised more than $300,000 for the Shriners Children's Hospitals - along with the famous circus, which this year completed its 54th year of touring Portland, Lewiston and Augusta. The 3rd annual Car Show and Fly-in this past summer had over 300 cars participating, coming from all over New England and from as far as Quebec, and, along with the FEZtival, is among the newest major events.

The Temple is comprised of 11 clubs, which represent geographic centers within the region served by the Lewiston chapter, ranging from York County, through Portland, the Lakes Region and Oxford County, Midcoast, Kennebec Valley and others. Clubs meet regularly and participate in the wide range of dinners, dances, trips and other social activities which are part of the Shriners experience.

But, what seems to best characterize Shriners is that they really do love a parade! Whether it's their own circus parade or one of the dozens of community and holiday parades throughout the state, it seems Shriners rarely assemble anywhere without one. The Kora Temple includes nearly two dozen private clubhouse rooms, each dedicated to and maintained by one of the "units" - such as the Band, the Chanters, Crazy Cops, Funsters, Highlanders, Karts, Klowns, the Oriental Band - most often associated with parades of all sorts. Just as the Shriners rarely assemble without a parade of some sort, so, too, will you rarely see a parade without a contingent of - or several - Shriner parade units.

The Shrine is also the parent of the network of 22 children's hospitals, providing a wide range of orthopedic care, burn therapies, and other special pediatric services with never any charge to patients or families, of course. And the prerequisite to membership in the Shrine is the requirement to have completed some of the rigorous ritualistic training that has been part of the movement of Freemasonry for hundreds of years. From its members' perspectives, the Shrine is all about fulfilling the original mission of its 19th century founders: fellowship and fun, for the whole family.