The lore of the Warren 4th of July Parade is that it never rains on the parade. It rains before. It rains after. But never during. That institutional knowledge goes back to the early days of Addy Monroe which was the early 1960’s.
That all changed this year with torrential downpour happening during almost all of the parade. As a result, the parade judges awarded Best on Theme (Resistance is Revolutionary) goes to the crowd as they stubbornly resisted leaving the sidelines of the parade for drier environs and stayed until the bitter end. (More on that bitter end later.)
ON THE NOSE
“Please note that it was clear so many people put so much effort into creating each and every float. The categories below are a combination of tongue in check, ridiculous and on the nose, we want to make sure everyone knows that the “judges” appreciate all the participants,” judge Doug Bergstein pointed out.
Without further ado, here are the results.
Grand Marshals: The Valley Reporter in support of the 1st Amendment
Best in Show: Turning the Tide by Prickly Mountain Crew
Most Dependable: Mad River Rotary
The Mountains That Surround Us: Sugarbush and Mad River Glen
Best Community Service: Free Wheelin’
Most Consistent Performance: MRV Librarians
Best One Person Float: The Exotic Bird Guy
Best Political: Indivisible MRV
Most Treasured Repeat: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders
Politicians Abound: Ryan McLaren, Zach Hampl, Mike Pieciak, Gerald Malloy
Politics/Cars/Dogs: Dogs for Democracy in the red VW Bug
Most Tax Resistant: Hartshorn Farm
Best Adult Dance: Green Mountain Giddy Up
Best Kids Dance: Studio 100
Best Kids: Sculpture School
Most People in a Truck: Freddie Viens’ 1972 Chevy CIO pickup
Best Bike Display (back to the Earth too) : Living Tree Alliance
Best Commercial: Zen Barn
Best Straight Up Advertising: Russell and Son
Best Costumed & Most Candy: Gaylord Farm
Flitting About: Melinda Moulton as a butterfly
Best Antique Truck: Bob Westhelle’s 1952 Ford
Best Portrayal of General Wait: Fred Messner/Waitsfield Historical Society
Best Loyalist: the British Guy
World Cup Tribute: Bedford & Crew
Other Worldly Resistance: Church of the Valley
Shoutout to all the Mad River Valley Volunteer Fire Departments and Mad River Valley Ambulance Service who are always looking for more members.
SICKY AND CREW
“As the fire trucks passed and the hordes of people filled the streets heading towards Warren Village or the municipal buildings or Brooks Field, the judges gathered their thoughts towards the arduous process of matching categories with floats while wondering what happened to Dr. Butch’s Sicky and crew,” Bergstein said.
“Ten minutes later, with people (not water) flooding the road between the Warren Store and the Pitcher Inn porches, Sicky comes rolling down the road, sirens blaring in the now sunny day. The judges stopped what they were doing and enjoyed the moving rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Congratulations Dr. Butch for 50 strong years…keep ‘em coming. The usual fabulously decorated minions were on full display,” he added.
Judges included Karen Anderson, Bergstein, Dave Dion, Alison Duckworth, Susan Klein and Bob Meany.
