On May 6th, 2011, New York City's renowned Garibaldi Lodge No. 542 will confer the Entered Apprentice degree. What makes that unusual is that Garibaldi does its degree work in Italian, and like ten so-called "red lodges" in Louisiana, the lodge works ritual that is startlingly different from the Preston-Webb ritual worked by most grand lodge jurisdictions in the U.S. For lack of a better description, it is a ritual derived from what became Scottish Rite craft degrees that are rarely seen here. They are more physical, and more alchemical in nature.The lodge meets in the Grand Lodge Room (third and fourth floors) of the Grand Lodge of New York, 71 West 23rd St., near the corner of Sixth Avenue, in Manhattan. Reservations are required, and depending on the crowd, it's not uncommon for the 1,200 seats in the lodge room to be filled. Yeah, it's that special. Bring your own regalia, your dues card, and dress in appropriate business attire.
See the lodge website here.
For a more detailed description of attending this degree, see Jay Hochberg's entry from 2009 at the Magpie Mason.
Rhode Island brethren take note: WBro. Carmine DePetrillo at Harmony Lodge No. 9 in Cranston is organizing a bus trip for interested brethren.
