Fourth of July parade set in Manyunk

It is tradition that if July 4 is a Sunday, the Fourth of July parade will be held on Monday, July 5, the legal holiday. On Monday, July 5, at 8 a.m., St. John the Baptist, Manayunk, will celebrate Mass in church. Come dressed in your service uniform or your red, white, and blue, carry your Bible, ring your bells, wear your tin cup on a ribbon around your neck and march with us or watch our hometown Independence Day Parade of Sunday Schools and Churches beginning at 9 a.m. on Lyceum Avenue between Manayunk and Ridge avenues.

Police will post temporary “No Parking” signs a day or two before the parade reminding residents to move their cars from the parade route (Manayunk, Lyceum, and Ridge Avenues) and access streets (Conarroe Street near Manayunk and Ridge avenues). SEPTA bus routes will be detoured for the duration of the parade.

Bring your folding chair with you and find a spot on the parade route to sit and enjoy our hometown’s parade. In 2021, the 331st anniversary of old Roxborough Township and in an effort to bring more people to the parade, the 21st Ward Fourth of July Association has invited specific community groups to march in the community’s Independence Day Parade. Groups will include: Action Karate, Jeanette’s School of Dance, the Palestine-Roxborough Lodge #135 Free & Accepted Masons, Roxborough Christian School, and the Roxborough Ridge Runners.

July 5 will mark the 189th year of our community’s sacred Independence Day Parade of Sunday schools and churches. Our hometown Independence Day Parade will begin at 9 a.m. sharp at Manayunk Avenue at Lyceum Avenue. Participants will march up Lyceum Avenue to Ridge Avenue, before continuing with the post parade hometown picnic celebrations. The Association asks the residents of these streets to move their cars so the parade can be viewed without obstruction!

According to the custom of the 21st Ward Fourth of July Association, it is the lead church’s privilege to honor Samuel Lawson, founder of this community celebration, by parading with the bronze tablet dedicated to his memory and displaying it throughout the year. The 21st Ward Fourth of July Association is pleased to announce that Galilee Baptist Church, founded in 1896 and celebrating 125 years of service to Christ and community, will be the lead church in our hometown’s Independence Day Parade.

Grand Parade Marshal the Rev. Michael I. Talley, Sr. (Pastor of Lighthouse Missionary Baptist and alumnus of Galilee Baptist) will be assisted by Assistant Parade Marshals: Joe D’Amore, Jack Craighead and friends (Leverington Presbyterian), Fran D’Amore Danowski (Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic), Ralph and Claire Morgan (St. Timothy’s Episcopal), Nadine Talley (Lighthouse Missionary Baptist), Joe Gould (Green Lane United Methodist), Theresa Remoldi Ferris, Dan Ferris, Rebecca Rosenthal, Susan Weinman, and Ellen Casey, MD..

Any church that wishes to march in a future parade is welcomed to contact the Association President at 215482-6513. Find the 21st Ward Fourth of July Association on Facebook https://www. facebook.com/pages/21stWard-Fourth-of-July-Association/422457357892744 .

RAINDATE: There is no rain date for the parade. If, because of serious inclement weather, the parade is canceled by Grand Marshal the Rev. Michael I. Tally, the parade will be held next year with Galilee Baptist Church in the lead.

Domestic animals, such as dogs, are permitted to parade, if on a leash and under the control of the owner or handler.

Commercial advertising on floats or other vehicles is prohibited and must be covered.

Stopping or countermarching in opposition to the normal flow of the parade is prohibited, except with specific permission for special units preapproved by the Association.

Bicycles and/or rollerblades are permitted but must be contained within the specific church’s/school’s line of march. Riding in opposition to the line of march is not permitted.

Parade marchers are permitted to hand items to parade watchers at the sidewalk. Riders are not permitted to throw or hand anything to parade watchers or marchers.

Throwing candy, peanuts, and other items to children is prohibited.

The 21st Ward Independence Day Parade of Churches and Sunday Schools will begin with the salute to the Flag of the United States of America and the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance led by Hugh “Bud” Sinnott, Commander of the Hattal-Taylor V.F.W. Post 333, followed by the playing and singing of the National Anthem. The HattalTaylor Post Color Guard will proceed up the parade route with the Association’s President, Linda Marie Bell (Andorra Baptist), Treasurer Susan K. Hart (St. Alban’s Episcopal), and Parade Marshals.

The Good Timers Band will play for Galilee Baptist and provide music during the parade at regular intervals.