This year Ashland's, small town, family friendly, 4th of July event went safely and smoothly. It sounds like everyone had a nice time. This year the parade was video taped and placed on the Chamber of Commerce website for the first time ever. http://www.ashlandhome.us/ They are trying to work on the sound quality and promise next year the sound will be much better. I'm not sure how long this link will stay posted, but I thought it would be nice to watch if you missed the parade.
I really enjoyed being the Head Parade Chairman. This was my first year and luckily I had a ton of help from experienced parade officials from prior years. The parade went smoothly and the only negative comment so far was about a restaurant entry that was about three blocks long and very slow. Oh, and there was another parade entry driving a Porsche too close to the crowd and he scared a few families. But other than that, the whole day went well.
I was definitely ignorant to how much goes into putting on a small town 4th of July Event. We started planning and meeting at the beginning of March. For our town of 20,000 people it took over 100 volunteers and around 40K in sponsorship and donations. There is no 4th of July "fund" and the Chamber of Commerce makes the whole thing happen. The city itself actually doesn't have much to do with it as far as funding and planning. I was amazed and impressed with all the volunteers and folks that helped make it happen. Ashland is a sweet town and I'm proud to live here.
Cheers, Chris
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