Fourth of July parade back on track
It looks like Pottstown’s Independence Day festivities are coming roaring back in 2017.
Since January, a group of volunteers working under the TriCounty Network umbrella have been organizing activities for Memorial Park using the label “Pottstown Go Fourth Festival,” and April 27, the Pottstown Rotary Club announced it will stage this year’s parade.
Both the parade and fireworks were canceled last year when organizers could not raise enough money to pay for the permits.
A short-lived effort by TCN to revive the parade last year seems instead to have evolved into a year-long effort to organize events for Memorial Park on July 1 and 2, headed up by Erika Hornberg-Cooper at ArtFusion 19464, Ed Wysock and school board member and Pottstown Pow Wow organizer Ron Williams.
“We are excited to be presenting this festival to the Pottstown community,” Hornberg-Cooper said in a statement. “As we look down the road to the joint efforts of the organization of our local restaurants, the carousel,
the Colebrookdale Railroad, my hope is that events such as this will become a Pottstown signature.”
In addition to carnival rides, live entertainment, an art show and vendors, a food and SlyFox beer tent, plans also include tethered hot air balloon rides and a laser light show by Mobius8 & FYRE on both nights, in place of the fireworks, which have become prohibitively expensive in recent years.
And in addition to a new template for the Independence Day celebrations, the traditional parade will again take to the streets on Tuesday, July 4.
“We are pleased to be helping to revive this historic traditional hometown event and to be a part of the positive events that are happening in Pottstown, said Rotary Club President Bill Wellen.
It will include traditional features, such as the Rotary Club’s giant 16-foot-high inflatable duck, a reminder that the 26th annual Duck Race fundraising event for more than 20 local charities will float down Manatawny Creek on July 4th at 4 p.m.
Appearances by veterans groups, the Boyertown Alumni Marching Band Unit and Getz steam calliope have already been secured.
The parade will be a bit shorter, starting at Adams Street and proceeding along High Street to Manatawny Street, with the possibility of continuing on into Memorial Park.
Both events are encouraging more involvement by the community.
Civic organizations, car clubs, service groups, sports teams, scouts, dancing and/or twirling groups who want to be part of the parade should email pottstownrotary@gmail.com.
Equally as important, contributions to help pay for the parade may be sent to the Pottstown Rotary Community Endowment Fund, P.O. Box 227, Pottstown, PA 19464. Donations are tax deductible.
Similarly, contributions for the GoFourth Festival can be made on their website — https://artfusion19464.org/gofourth/ — or inquiries can be made by sending an email to info@ tcnetwork.org or calling TCN at 610-850-0181.
And if you would like to be involved you can email info@artfusion.org or call 610-326-2506.
The application deadline to be a vendor for one or both days is May 31 and the application and information is available at https://artfusion19464.org/gofourthvendor/.