Pittsfield 4th of July Parade Making Hopeful Plans to March
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Buoyed with hope," the Pittsfield 4th of July Committee is making plans for a parade this July.
The parade was canceled for the first time since 1977 last year, a victim of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Parade officials said at the time that it was possible for the thousands paradegoers to keep the required 6 feet apart for social distancing during the more than two-hour march.
This year, with vaccinations against the novel coronavirus well underway, there is potential for the parade go forward, "despite nagging issues." However, any decision will depend on state and federal guidelines at the time.
"We have an energetic and upbeat committee, despite the many unknowns about the virus at this juncture for 2021," said Parade Committee President Peter Marchetti in a statement released Tuesday night. "It's better to be ready than to be caught flatfooted."
The committee, which meets monthly, also will be discussing back-up plans at the Feb. 24 meeting, just in case.
The committee was well into planning for the 2020 parade when the pandemic struck. Like so many other live events last year, including the annual Fall Foliage Parade in North Adams, the parade was canceled to prevent transmission of COVID-19. Pittsfield Community Television broadcast a pre-recorded program on its history in its stead.
Fundraising letters that normally go out on March 1 are being pushed back to April 1, in part because of uncertainty about the virus, the vaccine, and the actual possibility of a live parade. The final decision date is projected to May 1.
Fundraisers are all on hold for now. The parade relies on donations and more recently struggled with fund raising and the committee debated canceling the 240-year-old tradition.
Should it go forward, the theme will appropriately be "An Old-Fashioned 4th: The Way We Were." A grand marshal is selected typically from the community.
Volunteers, whether for this year or next, are always needed. About 50 people are needed in the staging areas for about 170 marching units: balloons, floats, lining up elected officials, veterans groups, banner and their carriers, musical groups, fire departments, community groups, reviewing stand participants, special guests, and the kickoff and disband areas.
In addition, the parade needs help to coordinate television and radio broadcasting, as well as publicity, while generating "a mountain of paperwork." Staff support and phone calling is always a huge need from about March/April through the parade.
Annual elections were conducted in November and re-elected were Marchetti as president, Secretary Sue Rock, and five directors for three-year terms: Dick Murphy, Jill Gianatasio, Becky Manship and April White. Rebecca Brein was elected to an unexpired term due to a vacancy.
Tags: 4th of July, parade,
