Sound The Horns! The Parade Will March On

By Nancy K. Crevier

The Newtown Emergency Management team proved more powerful than Tropical Storm Irene, clearing the Newtown Labor Day Parade from the streets days after the August 28 storm had passed through Newtown.

After conferring with the Emergency Management team, Newtown Police Department Chief Michael Kehoe, and town officials, Labor Day Parade Committee members agreed on Friday morning, September 2, to postpone the end of summer event, scheduled for Monday, September 5, due to remaining safety concerns and continuing power outages around town at that time.

Parade committee president Beth Caldwell stated Friday morning that despite being deeply disappointed, the committee fully supported the police and town, and that it had agreed to reschedule the parade.

Following additional meetings on Tuesday, September 6, with First Selectman Pat Llodra and Chief Kehoe, Ms Caldwell announced that the parade will take place Sunday, October 9, beginning at 2 pm. Noting that the parade has always served as a means of drawing the community together, Ms Caldwell said she hopes that the same community spirit would support this unanticipated date change.

“We’ll keep some of the bands we had expected, and we will probably lose some,” said Ms Caldwell, “but we hope to gain some others not previously available. Now that schools are back in session, we may be able to get other area school bands,” she said.

At this point, she said, the outlook remains positive for the Wells Fargo Coach and Driver, the Nation’s Flags, and the vintage plane flyovers, new attractions greatly anticipated this year, to take part in the October 9 parade.

“A lot of people have already put a lot of money into this parade, and we plan to see that they get their money’s worth,” she said, referring to sponsors and advertisers in the parade program. “We work hard to fund this parade, and it’s our obligation and our pleasure to put on the parade,” said Ms Caldwell, noting that the eight volunteers on the parade committee still have a great deal of work ahead of them to reschedule the 50th anniversary parade. The process of defining the final line of march is still a work in progress, she said, and further updates will be announced as the October 9 parade date draws closer.

“We appreciate the support of the community that we have received,” she said, “and we have had great support from Chief Kehoe and Mrs Llodra. We want to send out a big thank you to them. [Delaying the parade] was not the decision of the parade committee, but at the suggestion of the Emergency Management team, for the safety of the community. It was the right thing to do, and who knows? We may end up that the personality of the parade will be even better.

“We want to make this work for as many people as possible,” Ms Caldwell said, “and we are working hard to march that parade down Main Street.”

Be flexible and be patient, she asked of Newtown residents. “And put in a good word for a beautiful, crisp fall day!”