Where Bernie won’t be this Fourth of July

[F]or the first time in years, Sen. Bernie Sanders, a stalwart at Vermont Independence Day parades, won’t be marching with other officials in the state capital as dusk settles Friday night over the Golden Dome, or eating meatballs at the wacky Warren celebration, or admiring glamorous outhouses in Bristol on Saturday.

Instead he’ll start the holiday weekend Friday like many of his fellow presidential candidates — at a breakfast Town Hall meeting for Iowa Democrats in Sheldon. For lunch, it’s another Town Meeting at a cafe in Storm Lake. And in the afternoon, a 3rd of July parade in Donna Reed’s hometown of Denison, in the midwestern part of the state, followed by a 7 p.m., you guessed it, Town Hall meeting in Council Bluffs.

On the menu along with chicken barbecue: big money in politics, income inequality and climate change. On the actual 4th holiday, Sanders will start out in Creston, Iowa, a 7,800-person town in the southwest part of the state, marching through the prairie-flat town at their 4th of July parade, one of the biggest events they have, according to a promotional video about the town. He’ll drive an hour away to Waukee for an early afternoon parade, a suburb within the greater Des Moines metropolitan area, of about 13,000.

Sanders, well known for his accessibility and as a fixture in Vermont towns small and large at major holidays and special events, will be missed, local parade organizers said, but locals understand. And it really sounds as if Bernie’s the one who will be missing out.

“Our parade is great,” said Ashley Witzenberger, executive director of Montpelier Alive, which organizes the town’s evening parade, which takes place at 6 p.m. Friday. “There’s a lot of performers and dancers and bands, great floats, and there are a lot of elected officials. He’s always been a part of that so he’ll be missing that,” she said. Among the officials attending this year: Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Gov. Peter Shumlin, though she noted that Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., would not attend this year.

Worst of all is the spread he’ll be missing, she said.

“We have kind of an amazing food lineup this year,” thanks to a vendor coordinator who “put a real concentration on getting diverse food. Almost every kind of food is being represented,” she said. Vegans, vegetarians and barbecue lovers would all find satisfaction, she said, and even falafel trucks and Chinese vendors are ready to serve.

City residents, however, will still likely “Feel the Bern,” thanks to artist Bo Mueller who will be selling T-shirts and other swag with Sanders’ portrait. “That idea (of having him) came from partly wanting to include Bernie in the day,” she said.

Additionally, Sanders’ organizers will be running a stand hawking Bernie-branded merchandise and encouraging people to buy shirts and march with them in the parade.

“We understand,” his missing the march, said Witzenberger. “He has a big campaign ahead of him, and people here know him and love him. His people will still be marching.” Festivities begin at 3 p.m on the Statehouse lawn for the Montpelier festival, and end with the Dave Keller Band playing from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Area road closures begin at 11 a.m.

Warren’s unique parade, which takes place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, more or less, will definitely miss the senator, where his presence seems like a perfect fit.

“It’s a counterculture parade, and that’s sort of what Bernie stands for. Bernie is counterculture,” said Lisa Davis, director of the Mad River Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the 10 a.m. parade.

“The big disappointment is that the theme of the parade this year is quality of life – ‘Live it, Love it,’ – and that’s one of the things Bernie stands for,” said Davis. “Quality of life for everyone, not just the top 1 percent.”

She said Sanders’ attendance was almost perfect since he’d begun marching in the parades, which predates her time with the chamber.

“In the last decade, he’s missed one parade, and I believe he’s been coming before then,” she said. After receiving confirmation from his campaign team that he wouldn’t attend, she said there was a bit of sadness, but also hope.

“I guess our stance here is, while the senator’s supporters may be disappointed that he won’t be taking his annual stroll down Warren’s Main Street, I think most recognize why he needs to be there in Iowa.”

She added, “Of course our fingers are crossed that his plans will change and land him at his regular spot in the parade.”

Acclaimed chef, Adam Longworth of The Common Man restaurant, will be rolling out his new meatball truck, The Common Kitchen Meatball Co., which Sanders will miss.

“They’ve been killing it at festivals around the state this summer,” Davis said. Specializing in meatballs, they source their ingredients locally and keep the restaurant’s farm-to-plate ethos alive, on four wheels. Road closures begin at 8:30 a.m. Shuttles run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to the town, and more information can be found here.

Bristol’s picturesque town of 4,000, which grows tremendously each 4th of July as locals flock from Hinesburg, Starksboro and Middlebury, won’t see Sanders shaking hands in the Town Green around noon, as he has in past years, organizer Diana Fox said. “People from Bristol are going to miss him but we totally understand that he needs to get his message out about who he is and what he stands for,” she said.

His loss, though: “I don’t think Iowa has outhouse races,” she said. “And we have some good Vermont music, local music.”

The morning starts with 5-k road race at 7:30 a.m. and a 9 a.m. outhouse race, in which racers charge the street with homemade, decorated outhouses. Information on the 10:30 a.m. parade, which winds through town, can be found here. Over 100 years old, Fox said it’s the longest continuously running parade in the state, and one Gov. Peter Shumlin visits each year.

Maybe Sanders will make new friends in Iowa – he’s asking people at each of the parades he’s attending to show up early to join in his campaign’s march, after all. His Vermont friends don’t seem to mind that one bit.

But there was a bit of a burn (or Bern) to his Senate office’s response when they responded to Warren’s invitation to march this year.

The Senator sends his regrets as you know he would have loved to be there just as he has in previous years,” wrote a scheduler named Jake Gillison.

“Thank you for understanding and for your patience. Best wishes to you and all the constituents of Warren, VA as you celebrate and honor the 4th of July.”

Virginia? Say what?