This year, we celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday — its semiquincentennial. On July 4, 1776, delegates from the original 13 colonies officially declared themselves as a new, independent nation by signing the Declaration of Independence.
The very meaning of the word “semiquincentennial” implies we’re halfway to 500. Where have we gotten, and what might the next 250 hold?
Here in the hilltowns of southern Vermont, the folks planning town celebrations for the Independence Day have a bigger theme to consider than just hot dogs and fireworks: bringing community together, despite our differences, to celebrate what we’ve made and the potential it holds for our beloved communities.
Commemorating such a milestone for our still-young nation means reflecting on the past while considering what our future could look like. It also means centering our present: a time of perceived divisions in this country that challenges us to come together and celebrate as one.
The Commons offers a snapshot of these celebrations and traditions old and new, compiled and written by Joslyn McIntyre and Robert F. Smith, with some additions from your editors.
Guilford: Fourth of July revival
At Broad Brook Community Center (BBCC) in Guilford, Executive Director Ada Brown is in charge of planning the town’s Independence Day celebration and sees it as an opportunity to zoom out and find a unifying perspective.
“I like to think about the past, and our history, through the lens of how we can build on it and take what we learn from it to help shape our future,” she says.
The former Guilford Grange Hall once hosted the celebrations by decorating the porch with bunting, offering lawn games for children, and inviting a prominent community member to lead a rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” on the porch.
A motley procession of Guilford residents — sometimes consisting of town fire trucks, farm tractors, kids with decorated bicycles, and the occasional farm animal — would make its way up Guilford Center Road.
Longtime resident Don McLean recalls that for “a few years, a farm tractor pulled a hay wagon with the Guilford kindergarten. Once, maybe, the Franklins had a cow or calf walking.”
This summer marks only the third consecutive year Brown has organized a modern Fourth of July event at the BBCC, but these celebrations have been in many ways a continuation of the older Guilford tradition.
“I love history, and that’s one of things I love about running the BBCC,” Brown says. “It’s a perfect example of taking something old and transforming it into something usable for the present, while still maintaining its connection to our past.”
Guilford’s July Fourth will begin with a noon reading of the Declaration of Independence by community members of all ages at the Guilford Center Meeting House. The traditional Guilford “motley procession” will then parade down Guilford Center Road to the BBCC to start the festivities, which include bingo in the dining room (hosted by the Guilford Grange) and yard games down the road at the Playscape.
The Guilford Country Store will host its annual BBQ, complemented by strawberry shortcake by donation, and free ice pops and watermelon. And on the porch of the BBCC, musicians Laurie Indenbaum and Mary Cay Brass will provide a backdrop of songs.
A centerpiece of this year’s commemorative celebration will be a children’s art show at the BBCC, “Past, Present and Future.” Brown has invited local children to submit up to three pieces, each reflecting on three themes: exploring what Vermont might have been like in 1776, imagining this place in 2276, and capturing what folks love about the town today.
The Guilford community is also co-creating three large-scale mixed-media banners to hang in the BBCC in a project led by local artists Joan Peters, Susan Bonthron, and Uriel Najera. The banners will hang opposite the children’s art.
Brown believes that art is a powerful catalyst to shift perspective and recognize how “regular people doing seemingly small things can instigate a shift toward a better future.” She adds, “Each participant will have the opportunity to collage their own creative piece to these shared works or add directly to the painted banners, helping to build a collective vision across generations.”
As Brown says, “To me, this 250th celebration, and our youth art show, are an opportunity to lift our heads up for a minute, look beyond our current divisions and remember how much things changed in those few years before and after 1776— and think about how much they will change again in the next 250 years.”
She adds, “It’s also a chance to change our perspective, a reminder of how quickly the world can shift, and that often it’s just regular people doing seemingly small things that can instigate that shift toward a better future.”
Wardsboro: a long tradition of low-tech Americana
The Wardsboro 4th of July Street Fair and Parade stake a claim as the longest continuously running 4th of July celebration in the State of Vermont, and in many ways, the celebration hasn’t changed.
It begins on Main Street at 9 a.m. and includes a street fair with vintage cars and trucks, floats and live music. The street fair, now in its 77th year, spills down Main Street with more than 40 vendors, plus chicken barbecue, pie, and strawberry shortcake sales. There’s also a whole zone of kids’ activities, which this year will include a bouncy house and obstacle course, a petting farm, a “touch a truck,” face painting, and more.
Pete Carlson, known as “Pastor Pete,” of the Wardsboro Yoked Parish, helps organize the event every year. He notes how, over the years, a once-small celebration has grown to draw thousands of people, partly because of its old-fashioned, low-tech feel and the way it knits generations together.
“There’s families, there’s people dressed up in patriotic outfits, there’s bikers, there’s out-of-state campers — it’s just a blend of people, and they’re all there, first and foremost, to celebrate Independence Day,” Carlson says.
Reflecting on the past, he continues, “For older folks, I think it sort of allows them to relive their younger days, when they could get out and be with family.”
Organizers have resisted bringing in a big public address system or high-tech effects, and phone reception is spotty in Wardsboro, so “you don’t see people walking around with their face stuck in a phone,” Carlson observes.
“They’re enjoying the day,” he says. “It’s really about community. People like to be with people. That’s the big draw.”
Saxtons River: Americana on parade
The annual Saxtons River Fourth of July Celebration is about as picture-perfect, small-town America as you can get — complete with races, a parade, pie eating contests, and a street fair.
Now in its 81st year, it will bring an estimated 1,000 people to the village’s Main Street. And with the area’s many longtime activist residents, it often includes some good-natured political satire, particularly in the parade.
An all-volunteer group of organizers pull the event together every year, and they have a well-established template to work with.
Susan Saunders, the president of the Fourth of July Committee, describes the group as small, but she says that everyone works equally hard to make it a success.
The day begins at 8:30 a.m. with the Firecracker 5K taking advantage of the early morning coolness.
The parade lines up starting at 9:30 a.m. and begins its march down Main Street at 11 a.m. This year’s theme is “Once Upon a River,” and the grand marshals are Berta Martin and Denny McArdle.
The parade includes local dance and gymnastic groups, farmers, area fire and rescue vehicles, local civic groups, antique cars, trucks and tractors, creative floats from citizens and businesses, local music groups, and a kids’ bike troupe organized by Bonnie Anderson of the BF Community Bike Project.
Saunders says that they’ve never rejected any would-be participants for the parade, but all are required to submit a description of their entry before the parade.
“We require appropriate signs,” she said. “No profanity, and people are asked to keep things positive. This is a family event, and we may see the need to talk with some entrees about the guidelines.”
New this year is a bike ride, the Tour des Villages, with 9-or-14-mile loops starting in Saxtons River at 9:30 a.m. and heading toward Grafton. It includes a contest where riders estimate how far and fast they will ride. The participant who comes closest wins a $100 prize.
There is a $5 entry fee, certified helmets are required, and riders can’t use any device like a watch or bike computer to track their time and distance. E-bikes are welcome.
Bringing back an old tradition of the event in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary, Saunders said, is a reading of the Declaration of Independence from the bandstand, this year by Mike Peller, Vermont Academy’s head of school.
The popular hula hoop competition — which always brings out a bunch of expert young teen competitors — is held in the street in front the Saxtons River Village Market, often under a brutal midday July sun.
A local drumming group provides the rhythm for the event, which can stretch on for a half hour or more. Maryann McArdle, along with her partner, Mark Ragonese, has organized and judged the event for many years.
Anyone with a need to cool off can walk to the far end of Main Street after the parade for the Firefighter’s Water Polo contest. Depending on where and how close you stand to the competition, you might be subject to a cool mist or a serious soaking.
The afternoon’s street fair includes several food vendors, a dunking booth, and live music. This year’s live entertainment from the bandstand includes local duo Andrew and Felix, and a performance by Saxton Rivers’ Shamus Martin.
In the evening, the traditional pickup softball game will be held at the Saxtons River Recreation Center organized by Dave Moore, and this year introduces a pickleball contest at the same location.
FACT-TV, and WOOL-FM will help promote and record the day’s events via community media.
In past years, the day ended with a fireworks display after dark. Saunders said that practice stopped during the pandemic. Since then, due to sharply increased costs, the complexity of organizing the fireworks, and other factors, the Fourth of July Committee has chosen to discontinue the pyrotechnics.
For more information, visit srvtfourth.org.
Brattleboro: going fourth in a big way
In Brattleboro, the annual “By the People: Brattleboro Goes Fourth” Independence Day celebration begins on Saturday, July 4 at 10 a.m., with bands from the American Legion and Brattleboro Union High School joining veterans and members of civic groups and youth groups in marching from the intersection of Flat Street and Main Street to the Town Common.
This year, the parade will feature a giant Statue of Liberty puppet that is part of 118 Elliot’s “I Lift My Light” gallery show — a project that honors the welcoming spirit of the Statue of Liberty and the fact that its pedestal was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt, born in Brattleboro in 1827.
Brattleboro’s Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, which is sponsoring the parade, “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,” parade organizers write on the event’s Facebook page.
Anyone seeking to decorate a bicycle for inclusion can do so before the parade at 9 a.m. at the Whetstone pathway beside the Brattleboro Food Co-op.
The parade route also will host athletes in the Red Clover Rovers Firecracker 4-Miler, set to run from Living Memorial Park at 9:15 a.m. through downtown to the Common.
From there, townspeople are invited to head to Living Memorial Park for a free public concert, sporting events, and family activities until the 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., and the Gaslight Tinkers band from 7 to 9:30 p.m.
When “Brattleboro Goes Fourth,” it will be the 53rd such celebration. Recreation and Parks Director Carol Lolatte said, “Even though this is a special anniversary, we’re going to do what we’ve always done: offer free activities to everyone to create a sense of community.”
People seeking to support the event can mail donations to “Brattleboro Goes Fourth,” P.O. Box 1112, Brattleboro, VT 05302.
More information, including weather updates, will be posted on the Brattleboro Goes Fourth Facebook page.
Marlboro: ice cream and costumes
The Marlboro Historical Society is sponsoring an ice cream social and a costumed parade for Marlboro residents starting at the Fire House at 1:30 p.m.
The annual event takes place on the first Saturday in July, which this year coincides with Independence Day and the Semiquincentennial.
The parade will conclude at the Historical Society, “where everyone will find a variety of ice cream, toppings, and baked goods,” Marcia Hamilton writes in the town newsletter, The Marlboro Mixer.
Hamilton requests that participants “avoid parking along the road in the town center and at the firehouse.”
Townspeople are invited to participate.
Newfane: A new tradition emerges
A community organization, Neighbors of Newfane, spearheaded by Toni Powling, is planning a brand-new Fourth of July event on the Town Common.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., people are invited to celebrate with free hot dogs and hamburgers provided by the Newfane Store, chocolate milk donated by Miller Farms, a birthday cake, face painting, and a petting zoo.
There will be old-fashioned games for kids, some of them dating back to 1776. And rumor has it that Paul Revere may swing through.
“We’re hoping to bring people together to celebrate the Fourth of July and realize what’s happened in the last 250 years. This is our country, and we should be able to celebrate,” Powling says. “We’re hoping for a good turnout, and we want a fun day, especially for the kids in the area.”
Deerfield Valley: Pre-fourth fireworks
Deerfield Valley residents and visitors can celebrate Independence Day and enjoy a spectacular fireworks display on Thursday, July 2.
The event at Hayford Field begins at 6 p.m. and features food vendors, cotton candy, music, a bounce house, and many vendors.
Rain date is Friday, July 10.
Free shuttles to the festivities will be available from parking at Howe Farm Field (off Route 100 North), and the Wilmington Town Garage (off Chimney Hill at 21 Haystack Rd.)
On Friday, July 3, Mount Snow will host a block party and a grand fireworks display over the mountain, with food trucks and beverages available.
“Please feel free to bring a chair or your friendly dog on a leash, but outside alcohol is not permitted,” the resort writes.
This News item was submitted to The Commons.