Newtown’s 49th

Labor Day Parade

Prepared To Hit The Road

By Nancy K. Crevier

Newtown Labor Day Parade Committee President Beth Caldwell’s sunny outlook is as bright as she hopes the day will be Monday, September 7, when Newtown celebrates the end of summer with the 49th Annual Labor Day Parade.

“It’s hard to believe that Labor Day is just around the corner,” said Ms Caldwell. “After many months of preparation, the parade committee is excited to be buttoning up the details and getting ready to put this show on the road,” she said.

Showcasing the spirit of the school and community, Newtown High School Nighthawks’ varsity cheerleaders, color guard, marching band, and orchestra will lead the way, starting off from the top of Main Street, at 10 am.

Close on their heels will be an antique auto ferrying Grand Marshal Marge Rogers. With a parade theme this year of “On Stage In Newtown,” celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Town Players’ Little Theatre, Ms Rogers, a 47-year member of the Town Players, is the perfect choice for grand marshal, said Ms Caldwell.

Then comes the array of more than 100 entries, including floats, school and Scout groups, bands, drum and fife corps, and representative vehicles and marchers from each of Newtown’s five volunteer fire companies, each one competing for the coveted Rooster Award. The Pyramid Shriners Klown Unit will provide silly antics, while the Moon Jumpers Jump Rope Team and local skate boarders rallying support for Donate to Skate will awe the crowd with fancy footwork and thrilling jumps.

Automobile buffs will enjoy the antique cars and tractors, not to mention the Shriners Motor Patrol of mini cars with their whiz-bang drivers.

Along with the fun and music, the parade also offers moments of reflection. The parade committee requests that viewers pause to salute the American flag when it passes by, whether carried by the members of the Korean War Veterans Association, American Legion Post 202, American Legion Auxiliary Unit #60, or the Veterans of Foreign War Post 308 and the Ladies Auxiliary, and to show respect to those men and women formerly or presently in service to the country.

The committee is honored to have the Northern Fairfield County Blue Star Mothers join the parade this year, as well as Purple Heart and French Legion of Honor recipient, World War II Army veteran Alfred Green.

There are always longtime favorites marching in the parade, but the parade committee is always on the lookout for new additions to the procession. This year Newtown Park & Bark dog park supporters will have a contingent stepping lively, as will the Town Players and Hometown Publishing. Team members from the NHS Nighthawks’ ice hockey team and from the Danbury Whalers’ ice hockey team will be “chillin’” in this year’s parade. And who will not fall in love with Herbie the Love Bug puttering down Main Street?

Along with the blankets and lawn chairs, paradegoers will want to bring one or more nonperishable food items. NHS student Breanne Lubinsky will be back for the third year with her “One Can Make(s) A Difference” food drive for FAITH Food Pantry.

At the end of the parade route, Ace Hardware welcomes parade participants and viewers to support the Newtown Hook & Ladder Company, which will have a table set up in front of the hardware store. T-shirts and baked goods will be available for purchase, to benefit the Hook & Ladder  building fund.

Those who live along the parade route of Main Street, Glove Avenue, and Queen Street generously welcome the thousands of Labor Day Parade supporters that line the streets. But leftover trash is not welcome. Please pick up and properly dispose of any debris when all is said and done.

The Newtown Labor Day Parade Committee, made up of Ms Caldwell, Steve Bigham, Brian Amey, Dan Cruson, Kym Stendahl, Kelly Stendahl, Ellie Whelan, Mona and Gary Steele, and Robin Buchanan, thank platinum sponsor Newtown Savings Bank, gold sponsor Newtown Rotary Club, silver sponsors Hometown Publishing, Caraluzzi’s Newtown Market, Newtown Hardware, DaSilva Law Firm, Maplewood of Newtown, and Chuck E. Cheese, all who make the Labor Day Parade so special: “And our thanks to all from the firefighters and police, to the bands, horses, clowns, and cheerleaders, and all from town who march, line the streets, and help make it ‘Nicer In Newtown,’” said Ms Caldwell.