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The Brainerd/Baxter Fourth of July American Celebration is approaching, and even with all the changes to this year’s annual tradition the Fourth of July parade is expected to be spectacular.
With the Fourth of July festivities moving to Baxter, the parade will start at the corner of Clearwater Road and Golf Course Drive, travel south to Excelsior Road, then north on Cypress Drive and then west on Clearwater Road. The staging area for the 95 units will be on Golf Course Drive from Clearwater to Woida roads. Roads that will be closed on the Fourth of July for the parade include:
• Closing at 8 a.m. will be Cypress Drive, north of Excelsior Road; and Clearwater Road, east of Golf Course Drive.
• Closing at noon will be Golf Course Drive, between Woida Road and Clearwater Road.
• Closing at 3 p.m. will be Golf Course Drive from Excelsior Road to Clearwater Road; and Excelsior Road from Golf Course Drive and Cypress Drive.
Cypress Drive from Excelsior Road north to Woida Road and Golf Course Drive between Clearwater Road and Woida Road will remain closed until after the fireworks. Excelsior Road will be detoured to Fairview Road.
The parade itself will host about the average number of units this year. Nancy Cross, director of Brainerd Community Action, which is coordinating the Fourth of July events, said they are beefing up the parade this year. Community Action will award one float with the Best of Parade honor which will include a prize package and a traveling trophy. Previously, the floats were given Best of Parade and given second, third and fourth place titles, but this year a prize package will be offered to the best float.
Cross said they want to offer people something to encourage them to put more emphasis with their floats.
The parade marshal is 2012 Miss Minnesota’s Outstanding Teen Bailey Wachholz, who became Miss Brainerd Lakes Outstanding Teen in January.
JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851. Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jennewsgirl.
Comments (5)
Add commentU-turn?
Travel south to excelsior then north? Isn't that just back and forth? This doesn't make any sense
Golf Course Road?
So I know where Golf Course drive is, but where is Golf Course Road? Is the Dispatch just making up roads now?
Not going
Sorry, but this just seems like a hodge-podge of a mess and our group that normally attends the parade in Brainerd have chosen to avoid the Baxter mess. Maybe next year when it's back in Brainerd we will attend again.
So much for tradition...
There were several ways that the event could have still been held in Brainerd.I think Baxter`s plan sounds like a huge mess , nor do I think there is ample space for people. It has always been tradition to spend the day down town, grilling, walking around visiting with friends .people watching and spending time with my family.If I am going to change that than I must say ,I think I will head to nisswa or pequot. I think the people should have been allowed to vote on moving it or letting the Jaycees host it.
Not to mention all the small
Not to mention all the small businesses that could have benefited from the extra people, why remodel all of downtown if you don't have reasons to bring people to those businesses besides bars?