UPDATE 6/30/2020-2:00 pm
Details for Drive-thru Independence Day Parade Route
The Annual Midlothian Independence Day Parade has been re-designed as a drive-thru event to take place on Saturday, July 4, 10 to 11:30 a.m., beginning at the north end of South 14th Street at George Hopper Road and ending at US Highway 287. Entries will line up along the northbound lanes to be viewed by parade-goers travelling the southbound lanes at a safe pace from the comfort of their vehicles.
Citizens are invited to join in the fun by decorating their own cars. A brainchild of the Midlothian City Council, this creative alternative was proposed as a way to bring the community together to celebrate our country’s birth while ensuring citizens’ safety during the pandemic.
Midlothian Independence Day Parade Modified
The Midlothian City Council held a special meeting at 4 pm on Monday afternoon, June 29 to discuss upcoming Independence Day celebrations. Three people addressed Council during citizen comments, Jackie McDonald, Allie Benham and Laura Terhune. All said they would support council decision whether sad that events had to be cancelled or not. Ms. Terhune noted that the Chamber of Commerce had cancelled three events due to Covid-19 thus far this year but she understood. She feels that the citizens safety, health and well being must always be placed first.
In discussing whether to hold a parade or not, Councilman Ted Miller said he had discussed the matters with his family recently and they came up with what they felt could be an innovative and great way to proceed. Miller said their consensus would be to hold a “reverse parade,” where the parade participants would line up along George Hopper Street and citizens would drive by them. “This way,” he said, “everyone could remain safely in their vehicles and there still could be a celebration.”
Councilman Wayne Sibley said he felt this was an excellent idea. Mayor Reno asked for more input and called Police Chief Carl Smith to provide input as well. Smith said this concept worked well for high school graduation and he felt it could be worked out for a July 4th parade as well.
There are considerably less floats signed up for this year (14) therefore no one saw any unsurmountable issues with the “reverse parade” concept. Council approved it to occur as such.
The fireworks show will proceed as planned with parking to be in the stadium lot and participants to remain in their vehicles or socially distanced with masks on if they exit their vehicles. Movies in the park will be cancelled for this year.
Details on the time and more specifics on the parade will be released soon.
