Join us Thursday, July 4th!
The 51st annual “By the People: Brattleboro Goes Fourth” Independence Day celebration is set for Thursday, July 4, 2024, 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 and 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, 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. This year’s parade will feature a salute to area volunteers, whose organizations can participate by emailing .
Children seeking to decorate a bicycle for inclusion can meet July 4 at 9 a.m. at the Whetstone pathway beside the Brattleboro Food Co-op.
BCTV will record the parade for later broadcast on local cable television and online, with more information at www.brattleborotv.org.
The parade route also will host athletes in the 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 Jacksonville Blues Band from 7 to 9:30 p.m.
All programs are free thanks to citizen, civic and corporate donations, starting with the celebration’s main sponsors, the Brattleboro Elks, C&S Wholesale Grocers and G.S Precision.
More than a dozen other institutions — including Fulflex, Planet Fitness, The Richards Group, VSECU division of New England Federal Credit Union, Brattleboro Food Co-op, Brattleboro Kiwanis Club, Brattleboro Savings & Loan, Brattleboro Veterans of Foreign Wars, Costello, Valente & Gentry, Members 1st Credit Union, Studio 20 Hair Salon, Trust Company of Vermont and Vermont Country Deli — also are major contributors.
People seeking to support the event can mail donations to “Brattleboro Goes Fourth,” P.O. Box 1112, Brattleboro, VT 05302.
