Thousands of residents and visitors lined Monterey Road July 4 to watch the 151st Morgan Hill Freedom Fest parade, as the city joined communities across the nation in celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence.
The parade featured 124 entries and 2,600 participants, making it one of the largest in the event’s history, organizers said. The entries included equestrian groups totaling more than 60 horses, more than a dozen floats and multiple marching bands, one comprising more than 100 musicians.
The parade is traditionally led by Grand Marshals selected from among prominent locals who have made significant contributions to the community. This year, in a slight departure from that tradition, organizers decided instead to honor the community’s future by selecting nine young students through an essay contest.
Contestants through middle school age were asked to write about “Dreamers, Doers and Believers” and what that means to them. The nine winners, ranked first through third place across three age categories, were Namiko P., Sawyer S. and Ai-An T. of the primary grades; Paisley D., Catherine M. and Grace J. of the intermediate grades; and Aiden S., Karl S. and Sierra J. of the middle school grades.
The young marshals led the parade smiling and waving from a tractor-drawn hayride provided by the Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch. They followed the Veterans Color Guard, which included members of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Continuing the theme of letting youth lead the way, the procession was sent off with a national anthem performance by Brielle Johnson, 15, of Monte Vista Christian School in Watsonville.
Both local public high schools were also represented, with the Ann Sobrato High School Marching Band and Color Guard among the parade’s musical contingents, followed by the Live Oak High School Cheer Team dancing and waving glittering pompoms to the music of the rival school’s band in a display of scholastic unity.
Leading the public safety entries was the city’s 1926 Seagrave fire engine, a historic vehicle the fire department has maintained since it was purchased a century ago. It was followed by more heavy equipment including modern fire engines and the Morgan Hill Police Department’s BearCat armored rescue vehicle.
Admission to all Freedom Fest events, including the parade and the evening fireworks show at the Morgan Hill Outdoor Sports Center, is free, a commitment Freedom Fest board president Matthew Stein said the all-volunteer organization takes seriously.
“We never want a child to look up at their parents and ask to do something and hear ‘we can’t afford it,’” he said.
The estimated $400,000 annual cost is covered through a mix of local business sponsorships, on-site revenue and individual donations. Organized by volunteer leaders with no paid staff, the event spans two days and includes the parade, a car show, the Patriotic Sing youth music event, street festival and both a 5K and 1-mile race.
The festivities concluded with an evening fireworks display at the outdoor sports center, where Freedom Fest hosts what it bills as the largest land-based fireworks display in Northern California, with more than 2,200 shells fired.
