Brewster celebrates 4th with parade, fireworks

BREWSTER – Along about 6 p.m. last Thursday, July 4, folks hereabouts were feeling pretty smug and partly sorry for all the sorry souls who spent all those dollars and travelled all that distance to the nation’s capital for the Independence Day celebrations, when a much better show unfolded right here on Main Street.

At 5:30 p.m. spectators began lining both sides of Main from Legion Park to Seventh Street as cars, bikes, floats, tractors, trailers, wagons, marchers, horses and more queued up for the multi-block procession. At the stroke of 6 p.m. Brewster Police Chief Nattalie Cariker led the assemblage followed by the Legion Riders escorting the colors, American flag, Legion flag and P.O.W-M.I.A. flag.

At the parade midpoint the procession paused for the playing of the National Anthem.

What followed was every kind of conveyance one could conjure with passengers tossing trinkets, toys, candy and passing out fruit samples.

While he did not deliver a 45-minute speech to rival that in the other Washington, Brewster mayor Art Smyth did make a brief but tasteful appearance on behalf of the Department of Public Works at the wheel of the city’s new Global M3 street sweeper.

Among the dozens of participants were Three Rivers Hospital, the Soccer Club, Brewster Marketplace, Brincolines JJ mechanical bull, Los Paisas Store, Brewster Boys & Girls Club, Crane Family Orchards, Jose’s Lawn Care, Combat Veterans International Chapter 15, Camperos Mexican Restaurant’s dancing horses, Douglas-Okanogan Fire District 15 with its M35 deuce-and-a-half water tender with a bumper-mounted water cannon that was a hit with the youngsters.

A large group from Gebbers Farms decked out in matching Faith, Family, Freedom t-shirts distributed sample boxes of cherries to spectators along the parade route.

At the parade’s conclusion many among the crowd headed toward Columbia Cove Park to visit vendors and find a spot to watch the late evening fireworks show over the river courtesy of the city and fire district.