{"id":207523,"date":"2026-07-02T20:32:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T01:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=207523"},"modified":"2026-07-02T20:32:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T01:32:25","slug":"after-months-of-planning-grand-celebration-is-near","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/07\/02\/after-months-of-planning-grand-celebration-is-near\/","title":{"rendered":"After months of planning, grand celebration is near"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Navy Club Ship 726 worked hard to plan this year’s July 4 parade in Van Wert. The parade will step off at 11 a.m. Saturday and will go from the YWCA to the YMCA. Van Wert indpendent file photos<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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

There was no Independence Day parade in Van Wert last year. Navy Ship Club 726 Commander Ken Myers wasn\u2019t about to let that happen this July 4, the day America celebrates its Semiquincentennial \u2013 the country\u2019s 250th birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediately after last year\u2019s July 4 holiday, Myers and Navy Ship Club 726 began planning for the return of the annual Independence Day parade to Van Wert, plus a lot more \u2013 a fitting celebration for a milestone day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to put an extra emphasis on America so that\u2019s something we made sure were were doing from the very beginning,\u201d Myers said. \u201cWe weren\u2019t trying to shortchange the community. We actually put in a lot more hours than you would for a normal parade. It\u2019s been a little challenging at times but it\u2019s also going to be, hopefully, very rewarding for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most common questions leading up to July 4 is \u201cwhat time is the parade?\u201d The answer to that question is 11 a.m. Saturday. The parade will travel west on Main St., going from the YWCA to the YMCA. Lineup will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the NSCC Van Wert Campus parking lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have over 50 (parade) units but we are still getting entries,\u201d Myers said this week. \u201cIt\u2019s been a nice reach-out from the community to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A special part of the July 4 celebration will be a flyover. Myers said he\u2019s still waiting to hear from officials in Washington, DC to learn exactly what type of military aircraft will take to the skies over Van Wert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The celebration isn\u2019t confined to just the July 4 parade. A full schedule of events and offerings, which includes a pair of free concerts at Fountain Park, is listed below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

While Myers and Navy Club Ship 726 took the reigns to ensure a proper 250th celebration, he acknowleged the group received a lot of help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome of the community has really stepped up and helped us fund this weekend,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with Navy Club Ship 726, major sponsors of the celebration include Wild Willy\u2019s, Van Wert Memorials, Truland Equipment, Burcham Print Shop, First Federal Van Wert, the Van Wert Rotary Club, Visit Van Wert, the Van Wert County Foundation and Rose Myers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 3-4 schedule for downtown Van Wert<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday July 3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • 8 a.m. \u2013 Vendors to set up and food trucks<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 11 a.m. \u2013 Food trucks and concession stand and craft vendors open<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 4 p.m. \u2013 Bounce house open (free to public)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 7 p.m. \u2013 Fort Wayne-based Super Hawk, a classic rock band, will perform live on stage at band shelter at Fountain Park (free to public)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Karaoke\/DJ immediately after the live show<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Fountain Park will close at midnight<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Saturday July 4<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • 8 a.m. \u2013 Vendors to set up and food trucks<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 11 a.m. \u2013 Independence Day parade down Main St. (YWCA to YMCA)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 12 p.m. \u2013 Food trucks and concession stand and craft vendors open, bounce house open (free to public)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 1 p.m. \u2013 Car Cruise-In at corner of Jefferson St. and Central Ave.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 7:30 p.m. \u2013 Pete Schlegel will perform live on stage at band shelter at the Fountain Park (free to public)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Karaoke\/DJ immediately after the live show<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor There was no Independence Day parade in Van Wert last year. Navy Ship Club 726 Commander Ken Myers wasn\u2019t about to let that happen this July 4, the day America celebrates its Semiquincentennial \u2013 the country\u2019s 250th birthday. Immediately after last year\u2019s July 4 holiday, Myers and Navy Ship Club 726 began […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-207523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-topstory"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-09 22:56:45","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\/207523","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=207523"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207560,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207523\/revisions\/207560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}