The 129th Annual Winnetka Fourth of July Celebration kicked off with a 10 a.m. parade lineup of more than 60 local organizational participants, including bagpipe bands, a Dixieland band, a replica Statue of Liberty and a marching-band rendition of “God Bless America.”
Winnetka resident, Fred Mills, 94, said he has been attending the parade since 1953, and attended this year with his son, Fritz Mills, now 65.
“My son used to march in the parade with the Boy Scouts,” Fred Mills said. “As an ex-Army guy, it is still a patriotic event for us. We enjoy the casual nostalgic celebration.”
According to Winnetka Park District Recreation Supervisor Toby Ross, they had many new local entries for the parade this year.
“We are excited about the appearance of the princesses from ‘Princesscapades,’ which add to the fun of the event,” Ross said.
In a blur of red, white and blue, the parade traveled down Elm Street from Skokie School east towards the Village Green.
Beth Kemp is a Winnetka resident and a volunteer at Hubbard Woods School and said she grew up in small-town Iowa.
“Winnetka’s Fourth of July parade is the best of Midwest main street parades,” Kemp said, “There is no other parade like it on the North Shore.”
Patriotic fun continued on the Village Green, with a flag-raising by Color Guards and Scout Troops 18 and 20, a reciting of the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance, and readings from the Declaration of Independence, followed by a Children’s Flag Parade with the Bill Porter Orchestra, and relay races adjusted for age and distance.
“Fourth of July as a whole is simply fun because it brings everyone, young, old and everyone in between, together to celebrate,” Ross said. “It’s just a great day from start to finish and we have so many different things going on for everyone.”
Winnetka Village President Chris Rintz said he found inspiration in the historic photographs of a Winnetka Fourth of July celebration in 1911, also on view during the festivities.
“We are so proud to continue the tradition of fellowship and offer the simplicity of fun for families on this same day in the same place for almost 130 years, with old-fashioned races across the Village Green,” Rintz said.
Later on Tuesday, Fourth Fest began at 6 p.m. at Duke Childs Field with games, rides, inflatables, and new this year a pre-fireworks concert by Generation. An 8 p.m. performance followed by the Jesse White Tumblers and, later, the fireworks. Organizers said the fireworks show was 10 percent longer than in other years.
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Stuart Robins, originally from the U.K., attended Winnetka’s Fourth of July parade on Saturday with his wife, Robin, originally from Winnetka; as well as daughters, Lily, 8, and Isla, 5.
“In Britain, we don’t really have a holiday that rivals the patriotism of the Fourth of July,” Robins said. “The only thing I can think of that compares to this is a royal coronation.”
Gina Grillo is a freelance reporter.