Sanford will mark Independence Day with a parade at 10 a.m. July 4. The event is preceded July 3 with a Block Party and fireworks around Number One Pond. COURTESY PHOTO/Sanford Parks and Recreation
SANFORD — The city of Sanford will celebrate Independence Day with fun and festivities and a block party and fireworks set for July 3, followed by a big parade down Main Street on July 4.
The annual event is one of the largest commemorations of America’s independence from England in York County.
Gordon “Bud” Johnston has been selected as Grand Marshal for Sanford’s Independence Day parade, set to begin at 10 a.m. on July 4. TAMMY WELLS/Journal Tribune
The block party features food, games, music and more, said Sanford Parks and Recreation Director Alan Grady.
He said events begin at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, July 3 with an open air market selling an array of food, sweet treats and other merchandise in the area of William Oscar Emery Drive on Number One Pond.
Grady said visitors will want to take in a show by the Maine Attraction Water Ski Show Team, which regularly thrills audiences with their skill and precision moves. The show is set for 6 p.m.
Rounding off events on July 3 is a fireworks display, set to go off at 9:15 p.m.
Parking for the block party is available at Sanford Junior High School, with handicap parking near the Armory on William Oscar Emery Drive. Grady said no animals, no alcohol and no smoking will be allowed at the event.
Those attending are invited to show their pride in Sanford at the annual Independence Day Parade, set to step off at Gove Street at 10 a.m. on July 4 and make its way down Main Street to Gowen Park.
Retired botanist and president of the Mousam Way Land Trust, Gordon “Bud” Johnston, has been selected as the parade Grand Marshal.
“It was a surprise,” said Johnston, when he got the call that he was chosen.
It was likely not a surprise to others. Johnston has been a longtime community member who has made a number of contributions to the city, whether by leading schoolchildren in a project to restore the American Chestnut tree a few years ago, volunteering with the Goodall Library facilities board, and more recently, leading the effort to establish community gardens this year in Springvale.
Johnston earned degrees in botany and horticulture and went on to earn a doctorate in biology from Harvard. He taught at the college level for a number of years, and came to teach at Nasson College in the 1960s. Later, he taught high school courses in Sanford. For many years he hosted a radio show where he answered callers’ questions on gardening.
“His expertise has proven to be an invaluable resource to the city over the years and in particular the Parks and Recreation Department and the Trail,” said Grady.
Johnston will be driven in a convertible chauffeured by parade volunteer Marge Trowbridge, who said she served on a number of committees with Johnston.
“It will be an honor to drive Dr. Bud Johnston,” she said.
– Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com
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