In The News – Parade Fury

In Bristol, the Fourth of July Parade comes as close to being sacred as motherhood and apple pie. Not surprisingly then, when organizers voted Jan. 6 to shorten the historic parade’s route by approximately one-half mile, the outcry could be heard from one end of Hope Street to the other, and well beyond.

Members of the Bristol Fourth of July Committee — a group of un-elected volunteers — were buttonholed on the street, subjected to angry phone calls and excoriated online. The response was negative, and at times ugly, and a second vote was hastily scheduled last week. The public was welcomed to the meeting, and some 200 people turned out. After an impassioned discussion, the panel reversed itself, voting 80 to 10 to retain the original 2.4-mile route.

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