An event such as the Provincial Lodge of Instruction depends on planning, diligence and the coordinated effort of a number of teams.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals began as monthly sessions at the Costa Nova Masonic Centre in Jávea and increased to weekly from September. These sessions allowed individual roles to be refined and the team to develop the timing and flow that are essential to an orderly ceremony.
The final rehearsal, held in the event room at the Bonalba Hotel on 7 November, was especially important. Practising in the larger space ensured that everyone could project, move and position themselves confidently in the very room we would use on the day.
Setting up and the day before
Work begins the day before the Ceremony. W. Bro. Peter de Graaf, Provincial Grand Superintendent of Works, hired a large van and collected furniture, carpets, regalia, Masonic books, collars and banners from Costa Nova and Quesada, transporting everything to the Bonalba Hotel.
Members of the Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge, lead by W. Bro. Peter Farrell, the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, assisted by members of the Ceremony team unloaded and set out the room.
Final thought
A successful Provincial LOI is the visible part of a much larger endeavour. The ceremony itself is brief compared with the weeks of preparation behind it, yet every hour spent in planning and rehearsal is repaid tenfold in the calm, measured dignity of the day.