Parade postponed to 2022

Happy New Year! It’s finally time to make the post that we have been dreading writing for months.

The WIDC board voted not to attempt a 4th of July Parade in 2021 due to ongoing uncertainty. January is normally the month we start fundraising and planning with hundreds of emails sent out to performers this week across North America. Part of us hoped that we would get to January and we would see a brighter light at the end of the tunnel and scramble to pull something off but there is still too much uncertainty and we want to be able to put on a good show.

2022 will coincidentally be the 75th parade as well as the 100th anniversary of the first Wakefield 4th of July Parade and we will have two milestones to celebrate now. We have a lot of great ideas for 2022 so hopefully we are back to normal by then. We know that people are going to be counting on us to put on the biggest 4th of July Parade ever after so many cancelled events since March 2020 and we know we can deliver.

We will need all of your help to come back after two years off and are always looking for ideas and especially volunteers. The majority of our funds annually come from small businesses, many of whom have struggled since March 2020 and a few have closed permanently. Please make sure that you are shopping and dining locally to support the business that support our community. They need your help now more than ever as we all try to get through what will be a dark winter but we will get through it with brighter days ahead.