July 4 celebrations in Windham County (2024)

WINDHAM COUNTY — The following is a listing of scheduled events and programming in the area for the July 4 holiday.

BRATTLEBORO

Brattleboro Goes Fourth

The 51st annual “By the People: Brattleboro Goes Fourth” Independence Day celebration is set for Thursday, July 4, with a morning parade downtown and an 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 emailingbrattleborogoesfourth@gmail.com.

Children seeking to decorate a bicycle for inclusion can meet on 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 atwww.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.

Afterward, the town Recreation & Parks Department will offer a series of public concerts, sporting events and family activities at Living Memorial Park 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., a children’s concert by Les Julian at 6:30 p.m., and the Jacksonville Blues Band from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

GUILFORD

At the Broad Brook Grange,Community Center

After a hiatus of several years, the village of Guilford Center is reviving its Fourth of July tradition, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the Broad Brook Grange, established in 1874. The community is invited to join in the festivities on Thursday, July 4, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a community picnic reminiscent of early Grange gatherings and proudly sponsored by the Broad Brook Grange.

The day kicks off at 11 a.m. at the recently restored Guilford Center Meeting House, courtesy of the Guilford Historical Society which is collaborating on the event. Visitors can cool off with commemorative "church fans," explore a historic flag exhibit, and listen to a reading of the Declaration of Independence by two new Guilford residents who fled their homes to find liberty.

Barbara Fitch Haumann, president of the Broad Brook Grange, who grew up in Guilford, will extend a warm welcome and reflect on the Grange’s enduring legacy. Guilford poet Verandah Porche will then present a poem for the occasion.

Following the gathering, participants will take a leisurely stroll — rather than a parade —to the Broad Brook Community Center, led by accordionist Joan Peters. Along the way, attendees can stop at the library or enjoy games at the nearby playscape organized by the Guilford Recreation Commission. The Guilford Free Library will also be distributing free popsicles, and will be offering childcare during the event.

At the Community Center, a picnic tent will offer a spot for dining. The Guilford Country Store will provide a range of lunch options for purchase, with grilled foods and salads, including cheeseburgers, footlong hot dogs, vegan burgers, corn on the cob and more (visit the Broad Brook Community Center website for full menu details). Non-profit organizations, photo sessions with LifeSketch Photography, and music will add to the festive atmosphere outside, complemented by a traditional Grange bingo game inside. The Broad Brook Community Center board will serve strawberry shortcake with donations appreciated, alongside watermelon and beverages. An exhibit showcasing 150 years of Grange history will be on display, with an additional opportunity upstairs to view the ongoing art show, “Our World in Words and Pictures,” featuring Guilford poets and visual artists.

Rain or shine, the event will proceed as planned, with parking available at Springs Farm on Carpenter Hill Road. The Community Center parking lot will be reserved for those who need accessible parking. Limited spots also available at the Library, Museum, and Playscape.

For more information about the Guilford Fourth of July Community Picnic, visit https://www.broadbrookcommunitycenter.org/events/4th-of-july-in-guilford-center.

SAXTONS RIVER

Parade and 5K race

Saxtons River will hold it's annual Firecracker 5K Road Race at 8:30 a.m. on July 4. Pre-register at stillmiling.com/saxtons-river-firecracker-5k/.

The parade will start at 11 a.m. and go until noon. This year’s theme is Parade through Paradise, and there is a $500 prize for the best parade entry. To learn more, visit the website SRVTFOURTH.org or join one of the participating groups. The Bellows Falls Bike Project invites all bikers, trikers and unicyclists to meet up at 10:15 a.m. on Shepard’s Lane in Saxtons River to decorate their rides in advance of the 11 a.m. parade.

Noon announcements will then commence with a water battle game of Volunteer Firemen’s Water Polo on Main Street. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., games, food and street fair activities will also be held along Main Street.

From 1 to 3 p.m., there will be live music on the bandstand, and then pickup softball games at 5 p.m. at the rec area.

Collectors’ t-shirts will be on sale outside the Saxtons River Village Market this Saturday, June 29, and for sale during the celebration while supplies last. The $25 sales price will support the 2024 event.

This year Anna Clark, local artist and designer of this year’s poster and shirt graphic, will be screenprinting live at the Street Fair to embrace a reuse mindset and keep textiles out of the landfill. Bring a shirt or other fabric item to print. A $10 suggested donation will support the 2025 July 4 event. Handprinted, signed posters will also be available.

The town is still looking for volunteers to help out the day of the event. Most tasks only require a little time. Those who can lend a hand should connect with a volunteer coordinator at volunteer@srvtfourth.org.

WARDSBORO

Parade and library raffle

Wardsboro's July 4 festivities begin at 9 a.m. Thursday with local vendors, food, games, and live music. The town's 75th annual parade will start at 10 a.m.

The pandemic never stopped this parade, making it the longest continuously running event in the state of Vermont, according to local organizers. The Church bell will ring and the National Anthem will be sung to kick off the parade at 10 am. Parking is available at many local fields for a fee of $8 plus a free bus to the parade and all events.

The color guard will carry flags by local scouts and will be the first at the start of the parade. They will be followed by many new and favorite floats plus vintage cars and fire trucks as they make their way down Main Street. The parade will return past Town Hall where they will receive awards.

In this 75th year, Nancy Perkins has been chosen to be the parade’s grand Marshall. She is a former high school teacher at Leland and Gray’s business department but is renowned for the many hats she has worn in Wardsboro — namely chairperson for many years of the Fourth of July celebration in Wardsboro and the founder and editor of the Bucketville News just to name a few.

As usual, many creative vendors will line Main Street followed by a own lemonade stand, strawberry shortcake (next to the Methodist church), the Hamburger/Hot Dog stand and homemade pies of every variety. The chicken barbecue with all the fixings will open at 11 a.m. for takeout or with seating under the big tent.

Musicians Jim Knapp and the Bard Owl will be playing during the day. Raffles and a fun game called Where’s Waldo is open to everyone to play, with prizes awarded. Face painting and a caricaturist will be set up along with a children’s area for games and Touch-A-Truck event.

Make sure you stop at the History House where there will be a running slide show exhibit picturing past years of events and folks on the Fourth in Wardsboro.

The Wardsboro Public Library will hold a raffle booth for a rare art print by Vermont folk artist Henry Branford. The colorful winter scene is titled “Wardsboro City,” and it is a numbered print signed by the artist. The value of the framed print, because so few prints were produced and it was created about 20 years ago, is estimated at $350. It was given to the Wardsboro Public Library by an anonymous donor who has been a long-time patron and friend.

The Library’s raffle booth, with the Branford print in display, opens at 9 a.m. on Main Street across from the Town Hall. To make this pop-up art raffle especially attractive, the Library volunteers are selling a limited 100 chances to enter the drawing. Chances are $20 each. The drawing will be at 12:30 p.m. or when all chances are sold, and the winner does not need to be present to claim the prize that day.

Henry Branford, a self-taught Vermont folk artist, is best known for his highly detailed and nostalgic scenes, including Wardsboro and nearby villages. It has been many years since his original artworks and prints have been in the art market. “Wardsboro City” is described as a witty “moment in time” composition, typical of his signature style, that depicts a pair of skiers being towed through newly fallen snow down Main Street in Wardsboro. The skiers are holding onto ropes tied to the back bumper of an old red pickup truck. One of the skiers has lost one of his skis. Meanwhile, a barking dog and children, all bundled up in hats and scarves, are also running and playing in the snowy street. There’s a snowman off to the side, and in the warm glow of a window of one of the homes on Main Street, a little cat quietly sits on the windowsill, watching everything. Branford included a nativity crèche with figures, sheep, and camels in the background next to a building that was a church in those days to indicate that the season is Christmastime in Wardsboro as Henry Branford imagined it might have been around the mid-1950s.

The Branford print may be viewed at the Wardsboro Public Library in the days before the Fourth during regular library hours. For more information, visit wardsboropubliclibrary.org