We go to the Independence Day celebrations every year here in Great Falls.
The parade is usually a pretty big hit and everyone attends it seems.
I’ll take tons of pictures and videos of the event every year and this year I noticed that the parade was missing some things.
KRTV who once was pretty much a given for the parade was absent again this year, as they have been for a number of years now.
KFBB with their Bee mascot has been absent from the parade since 2005-06? KFBB doesn’t live in Great Falls any more so I can understand their not showing for a parade.
The frontiersmen with their 50 caliber long guns were missing this year, along with the clown car.
The GFPS Patriot Marching Band was the only marching band this year.
See video:
I’ve noticed that the military contingent seems to be getting larger every year, and we also have our assorted fire departments and law enforcement representations.
Though there were a lot of military, we didn’t have our C130 MANG flyover like usual. We also didn’t have the USAF helicopter or Benefis flyovers either.
The political representation during the parade was somewhat toned down as well — I guess that might be because no one is looking to get elected this year.
Matt Rosendale made an appearance — It was just him and some other guy walking down the street together.
I remember back in years gone by when Denny Rehberg would show up and there were literally throngs of folks walking with him during the parade.
I’m not so sure that our Republican friends like Rosendale as much as they liked Rehberg … but that’s just me … I could be mistaken.
The parades in Great Falls are usually pretty stellar. We go to as many as we can throughout the year and though the Parade of Lights, St. Patrick’s Day, and Homecoming parades are smaller, they seemed to be much more creative than our just recent Independence Day Parade was this year.
I don’t know if it’s the economy, politics, or that folks are just tired — it could even be a combination of all of these things that caused this years Independence Day Parade to fall sort of flat. I hope that our other parades can keep up with the originality and the creativity that our parades have been so known for over the years.
At the end of the day there’s always the fireworks. There are so many fireworks that it’s hard to take them all in at once it seems.
See video:
