Labor Day Parade Committee

Seeks Donations

By Nancy K. Crevier

Summer, particularly the end of summer, seems so far removed from the gray skies and chill of winter in February that it is hard to believe it will come again. But come it will, and with the end of summer comes the promise of one of Newtown’s most anticipated events of the year, the annual Newtown Labor Day Parade.

This year, the parade committee is beginning fundraising for the parade earlier than usual. “The parade is really for the people of our town,” said committee member Beth Caldwell, “so we are hoping that residents will give generously this year to support it.”

Residents may be aware that the total cost for putting on the splendid parade is nearly $20,000, but what they may not know, said Ms Caldwell, is why the parade is so costly.

Last year, the parade committee spent nearly $14,000 for bands and exhibitors alone. Some of the more popular bands, such as the Celtic Cross Bagpipes, The Fairfield Gaelic Pipe Band, and the Connecticut Alumni Senior Drum & Bugle Corps, charge nearly $1,000 each to appear in a parade. It costs the committee more than $3,000 to hire the many Shriner groups that amuse and amaze the crowds every year at the Labor Day Parade. For those who enjoy the fine footwork of the Sons of Portugal Dancers, the parade committee pays $850. The 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery charges $400 for a parade appearance and the cost of hearing the skillful drumming of the Westbury Drum Corps is $600. Another band residents look forward to every year is the Moodus Drum & Fife Corps. That organization requires a fee of $800. At costs of  $200 on up, the price of bands adds up quickly.

There are many other costs, as well, that go into staging the Labor Day Parade, explained Ms Caldwell, so it is never too early to ask for donations. The quality of the parade, she said, depends on the generosity of Newtown residents. Everybody marches to a different drummer, but without enough funding there may be far fewer drummers to march to on September 3, 2007.

To support the 2007 Labor Day Parade, themed “C.H. Booth Library — Keeping Us Reading For 75 Years,” mail checks to Newtown Labor Day Parade, PO Box 746, Newtown CT 06470 or to Newtown Labor Day Parade, c/o Newtown Savings Bank, PO Box 497, Newtown CT 06470.