It’s time to get people and plans together for the Warren Fourth of July Parade. This year in celebration of the U.S. semiquincetennial, the parde theme is “Resistance is Revolutionary”.
Organized by volunteers of the Mad River Valley Rotary and the town of Warren, the 77th annual Warren Fourth of July Parade and festivities are in the last planning stages. The full theme, "Resistance is Revolutionary: 1776-2026," celebrates the 250 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The parade will be led by The Valley Reporter staff (past and present) and newspaper owners, Grand Marshals Pat Clark and Lisa Loomis, along with community contributors over the years.
The parade needs floats, marchers, volunteers and prizes for the Buddy Badges sponsored by WDEV Radio. Those who can help or would like to be involved can contact Ben Olds at
Watch The Valley Reporter and at www.Warren4thofJuly.com or on Facebook at Warren4thofJuly for final details in the coming weeks. There will be lots of music, floats, food, dancing, children's activities and fun.
Below is list of some recent grand marshals and themes over the years. Who remembers all of them? Who is missing? According to The Valley Reporter archives and other published reports, the late Hap Gaylord served as grand marshal for over five decades. He died in 2018.
- 2006 – Radio Vermont/WDEV – [unknown]
- 2007 – [unknown] – Fueling the Future
- 2008 – Addie Munro – Back to the Future
- 2009 – Becky Peatman – It’s Easy Being Green
- 2010 – Chuck Allen – Life, Liberty & Pursuit of Healthiness
- 2011 – Bisbee Hardware – Act Like a Local
- 2012 – MRV Flood Recovery – We the People
- 2013 – Interfaith Council – Bridging the Gap
- 2014 – Volunteer EMS/Fire – Patriots ACT!
- 2015 – Mad River Path/Mad River Riders – Live it! Love it!
- 2016 – Troy Kingsbury – State of Independence
- 2017 – Claudia Becker – Stars & Stripes
- 2018 – Hannah’s House – Happy Birthday to US!
- 2019 – Sean & Karen Lawson – Symbols of Freedom
- 2020 – canceled, dang it!
- 2021 – none – Heroes Among Us
- 2022 – Win Smith and Maggie Smith – LIBERTY
- 2023 – Harwood Union HS Music Educators – Sounds of Freedom!
- 2024 – Joshua Schwartz – State of the Nation
- 2025 – Warren Librarians – Stand Up for Democracy!
- 2026 - Pat Clark and Lisa Loomis - Resistance is Revolutionary: 1776-2026
And for those who want to dive further into the Fourth of July and Hap Gaylord’s contribution, here is a link to 1995 Valley Reporter coverage of the parade and floats. It was republished during the coronavirus pandemic in 2000 when there was no parade.
