[A]t Montpelier’s Independence Day parade, crowds cheered floats that celebrated veterans, beauty queens, youth baseball teams — and displays that criticized the Trump administration and the fossil fuel industry.
The parade, which lasted about an hour, intermixed banks, climate change activists, sports teams, and bands.
The Bernie Sanders campaign float was followed by an a capella group called the Barre-Tones (“Happy Birthday U.S. and Barre-Tones,” their banner read). Some participants roller skated; others carried “A Free Nation Does Not Cage Children” signs.
One float was dedicated to the Mueller report. Another promoted bee preservation, and a group from the League of Women Voters focused on yelling the word “vote.”
“It’s people watching — that’s what I come for, everybody from every part of weird Vermont and normal Vermont,” audience member Whitney Kaulbach said. “It’s a great amalgamation of people.”
Kaulbach came to the parade with a friend, Andrea Barberi, to see Kaulbach’s husband and daughter run the annual one-mile race and to enjoy the festivities. Other audience members cited similar reasons: it was a beautiful day out. The Fourth of July is a time for communities to come together. The parade is a tradition.
“Instead of sitting on the couch and watching TV, just get outside and enjoy this,” another Montpelier resident said.
Montpelier’s traditions include the parade a mile race (ambitiously dubbed “the fastest in Vermont” by the Central Vermont Runners), a street full of food trucks, and a “family Olympics” event with inflatables and lawn games. Earlier in the day, kids could take pictures from a fire truck. Later, there was a concert by RaiZed on Radio and — naturally — fireworks.
The race drew crowds at around 6 p.m. It was over in 4 minutes and 21 seconds; the last stragglers, most of whom were under age seven, took three times that long to cross the finish line.
Then the parade began. The largest floats had a political bent: one, from Migrant Justice, advocated for Palestinian independence. Another protested fossil fuels, complete with 20 people wearing skull masks and a sob-wracked Statue of Liberty.
Several politicians also took part in the parade, including Gov. Phil Scott, Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman and Congressman Peter Welch.
Around the state, other towns celebrated — and are continuing to celebrate — the Fourth with their own variations on the theme. Most cities held their parades and fireworks on the Fourth itself; several others, like Burlington and Stratton, chose alternate dates.
But in Montpelier, crowds tolerated the heat a day early in celebration of the country’s independence.
“I think this is amazing. It’s so much fun, and everybody’s in such a great mood. We need this,” Barberi said.
“And we hope that there will never be any tanks in this parade, because that would be stupid,” her friend Waulbach added.
