Pittsfield goes all out in celebrating Independence Day

Pittsfield — Many hours before the city’s Independence Day Parade on Tuesday, July 4, residents were reserving spaces along the parade route by placing their chairs along the street, even despite the forecasted rain. The rain stayed away long enough, however, for thousands of people to witness the city’s traditional parade, which dates back to 1801.

The parade itself, which is organized by the Pittsfield Parade Committee Inc., lasted for nearly two hours and went through a good portion of the downtown area, starting at Housatonic Street and proceeding through South Street, Park Square, North Street, Wahconah Street, before finally ending at Wahconah Park.

The list of participating groups, companies, and organizations that took part in the parade seemed to be endless. The city’s police and fire departments, along with its school bus department, participated in the event, as well as nearby fire departments in Cheshire, Adams, and Lenox.

There were also plenty of participating marching bands and musicians playing from floats, including the Pittsfield High School Band, The Greater Kensington String Band, and other various musicians who played music to the audience along the parade route.

Local and state celebrities took part in the parade, including this year’s Miss Massachusetts, Chelsea Vuong, and American Idol 2015 semi-finalist Katherine Winston.

Local community organizations that took part in the event included the Norman Rockwell Museum, Berkshire Cars and Coffee, the Parkside National Little League Team, the Laborers International Union Local #473, and the American Red Cross.

Local companies that took part in the event included MountainOne, The Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, General Dynamics, and Premium Waters Inc.

But the real stars of the parade were the veterans and veteran organizations who participated in it, including the James E Callahan Berkshire County Chapter #65 of the Vietnam Veterans of America; the 2022 Pittsfield Veteran of the Year Robert Garrity; Marine Corps League Detachment #137; Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 448; American Legion Post #68; the Dalton American Legion Post 155; Ghent Veterans of Foreign War Post #5933; Vietnam War veteran Mike Ancora of the Marine Corps; and World War II veteran Donald Seckler of the Marine Corps, who, at 99 years old, was the oldest participant in the parade.

“The reason why we have so many people here is because people take pride in their city,” said President and COO of MountainOne Jonathan Denmark before the event. “There has always been a sense of pride and celebration every year on Independence Day. People love to come out and get together for their community. The parade really has a cross section of people throughout the community. You’ve got children, seniors, veterans, sports teams, singers, and musicians. It’s the best of our community all in one parade.”

“This parade has decades of tradition and history for the community,” Pittsfield Cooperative Bank Vice President of Branch Administration Dana Robb said. “Pittsfield’s parade has such a long history, and this city is starting to come back and is on the rise again. This parade is an example of that.”