The Reds finally triumphed in Jenkintown’s 2019 Color Day Contest by a score of 57 to 35.

What is Color Day? It’s a curious Jenkintonian ritual that pits students from houses designated blue against those designated as red (the school colors).

When new students enter kindergarten, the school assigns them a color — almost in Hogwarts fashion. For the rest of their lives, they carry that hue. If you get into a conversation with an expatriated Jenkintonian, they will likely tell you their color.

Then on the Friday before Memorial Day, the District holds an Olympics-like contest of endurance and strength with events such as tug-of-war, a relay race, obstacle races, and others for points. The team with the highest score wins the right to paint the Liberty Bell replicas in the field the color of their team.

The day begins at 8:30 AM with a boisterous parade in front of the school with the red and blue team lining up in parallel along West Avenue behind the high school band. The march to the field begins after much yelling and chanting and proceeds around Florence and across the playing fields to the football field for the main event.

The whole thing is over before lunch.

This is the first time in four years that saw the 500-pound bells painted Red, which means 81 coats now cover them.

Congratulations Red!