{"id":201663,"date":"2026-01-18T21:58:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T02:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=201663"},"modified":"2026-01-19T22:59:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T03:59:06","slug":"club-working-hard-on-planning-local-july-4-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/01\/18\/club-working-hard-on-planning-local-july-4-parade\/","title":{"rendered":"Local July 4 parade is in the works"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With cold and snowy conditions outside, it may seem a bit early to talk about the July 4 holiday, but it’s really not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s Independence Day holiday will be a special one, as the United States celebrates 250 years. The July 4 U.S. Semiquincenntenial will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and just like 1976 Bicennential, special celebrations are being planned throughout the country, Ohio and locally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Van Wert, planning has been underway since last summer, but organizers had to start from scratch because a key component of the local celebration didn\u2019t take place in 2025 \u2013 the July 4 parade. In previous years it had been organized by Van Wert American Legion Post, 178 but last June, the Post announced in mid-June there would be no parade due to a lack of help.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Thanks to the efforts of Navy Club Ship 726, the annual Independence Day parade is returning to downtown Van Wert after a one year absence. The parade and other activities that are being planned will help mark America\u2019s 250th birthday. VW independent file photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Knowing that America\u2019s 250th birthday celebration would take place this year, Navy Club Ship 726, which is based in Van Wert, announced very soon after that it would bring the parade back in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome of our guys were really upset there was no parade last year,\u201d Club Commander Ken Myers said. \u201cAfter it was announced I was bombarded with calls and texts asking \u2018what do we have to do to make sure that this doesn\u2019t happen for the 250th (celebration) and going forward.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myers said about 10 people are working on this year\u2019s parade. He said some entries have come in and he\u2019d like to see as many entries as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s open to everyone,\u201d he said. \u201cJokingly I have said I would like to see 250 entries because it\u2019s the 250th birthday of America and the guys have looked at me like I\u2019m crazy. It would be fantastic to have floats representing every part of Van Wert County in it, not just the city \u2013 it\u2019s a countywide event, it\u2019s a countywide celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve picked our grand marshal and we\u2019ll be announcing who it is soon,\u201d Myers said. \u201cWe\u2019ve talked about trying to get city council and village councils to come in and be part of the celebration.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it\u2019s considered a countywide event, for logistical reasons the parade will be held in downtown Van Wert, with the route being the same as previous years, right down Main St. from the YWCA to the YMCA. Myers also said the Van Wert County Commissioners are holding meetings once a month to discuss different July 4 activities that will or could take place within the city and the county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myers noted the activities being planned will not interfere with existing July 4 activities, including the Van Wert County Historical Society\u2019s Holiday at Home celebration or the city\u2019s traditional fireworks show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check back tomorrow for Part II of the story, including parade entry information, fundraisers, activities planned so far, including a flyover and a special July 4 evening concert in downtown Van Wert.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor With cold and snowy conditions outside, it may seem a bit early to talk about the July 4 holiday, but it’s really not. This year\u2019s Independence Day holiday will be a special one, as the United States celebrates 250 years. The July 4 U.S. Semiquincenntenial will mark the 250th anniversary of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-201663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-03 05:06:04","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201663"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201743,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201663\/revisions\/201743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}