“By the People: Brattleboro Goes Fourth” is set to hold the town’s 50th annual Independence Day celebration on Tuesday, July 4, with a morning parade downtown and afternoon and evening program of family activities and fireworks at Living Memorial Park.
Marching units including the local American Legion and Brattleboro Union High School bands, veterans, civic and youth groups will kick off the festivities at 10 a.m. with a parade from Flat Street to Main Street to the town Common.
Brattleboro’s Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, which is sponsoring the parade for a sixth year, will lead the march with its giant American flag, while local personality Alfred Hughes Jr. will conclude the event by debuting his annual top-secret ensemble.
Children seeking to decorate a bicycle for inclusion can meet at 9 a.m. at the Whetstone Parkway beside the Brattleboro Food Co-op.
The parade route also will host athletes in the Bill Powers Memorial Firecracker 4-Miler, set to run from Living Memorial Park at 9:15 a.m. through downtown to the Common.
After, the town Recreation & Parks Department will offer a series of public concerts, sporting events and family activities at Living Memorial Park — just off Western Avenue and Interstate 91 Exit 2 — from 2:30 p.m. to the start of fireworks at 9:30 p.m.
Highlights include a Small Fry baseball All-Star Game at 2:30 p.m., a New England Center for Circus Arts performance at 5:45 p.m., children’s concert by Les Julian at 6:30 p.m., and the Miles Band from 7 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.
All “By the People: Brattleboro Goes Fourth” programs are free thanks to citizen, civic and corporate donations, starting with the celebration’s main sponsors at Brattleboro’s Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, C&S Wholesale Grocers and G.S. Precision.
Nine other institutions — the Brattleboro Kiwanis Club, Brattleboro Savings & Loan, Clark-Mortenson Insurance, Fulflex, Howard Printing, the Marina Restaurant, the Richards Group, Trust Company of Vermont and Vermont Country Deli — also have contributed significantly.
More information is available by checking for updates on the Brattleboro Goes Fourth Facebook page or by emailing brattleborogoesfourth@gmail.com.
