The Pilgrims’ first winter in the New World was brutal – by spring, nearly half of the colonists had succumbed to the elements from lack of proper shelter, or disease.  Over one hundred years ago, the Town of Plymouth instituted a recurring event to honor these founders, naming it the Pilgrim Progress Reenactment. Based on the written account of Dutch visitor Isaack de Rasieres (rah-zee-ruh)   who came to Plimoth Colony in 1627 and observed the settlers gathering for worship, the Pilgrim Progress takes place on every Friday in August, and on Thanksgiving morning.  Costumed participants represent the fifty-one surviving pilgrims, walking to the solo beat of a drum in their sabbath procession to church.  The last Pilgrim Progress of this summer will be on Friday August 23rd at 6pm. Come witness this long-running tradition, or follow along as they walk past Plymouth Rock, up Leyden Street, and to the top of Burial Hill, where a short pilgrim worship service will take place. The Pilgrim’s Progress begins at the Mayflower Society House on Winslow Street, just off North Street in downtown Plymouth.