POTTSTOWN >> With so much focus, effort and publicity on the successful effort to bring fireworks back to Memorial Park for the annual GoGourth! celebration, it can be easy to take other aspects of that day for granted.
But it takes another group of volunteers as much time and effort to arrange the annual Fourth of July Parade down High Street, as it does to set up the celebration in Memorial Park.
And like the GoFourth! celebration did last year, a new group of volunteers has taken on this task – as they did last year – the Pottstown Rotary Club.
Planning has been going on for months and it is with great pleasure that the Rotary Club has announced that this year’s Parade Grand Marshal will be none other than Pottstown Police Chief F. Richard Drumheller, who is retiring in July after 30 years of service.
“It is only fitting that we honor Chief Drumheller in this manner,” said Rotary Club President Mike Bright. “He has done an excellent job serving the community over the past several decades.”
As per tradition, this year’s parade will begin at High and Adams streets at 10:30 a.m. and make its way west down High Street to Manatawny Street, one block away from Memorial Park, where the GoFourth! festivities will be held.
There, in addition to the other activities planned there, the Rotary Club’s 27th annual duck race will take place in Manatawny Creek at 4 p.m.
Thousands of plastic ducks will be released to float down the creek, each marked with a number, many of which correspond to dozens of prizes worth a total of about $10,000.
Tickets can be purchased from Rotary Club members, at the park on July Fourth, as well as from the dozens of non-profit agencies that are selling tickets and will be the beneficiaries of the funds raised.
And if you’re going to release thousands of plastic ducks into a creek, you had better have a giant 16-foot-tall inflatable duck make its way down High Street during the parade to let people know about.
By sheer luck, that’s exactly what the Rotary Club has on hand for the parade.
And, like in years past, the parade will also feature Getz steam calliope, the Boyertown Alumni Marching Band, the Royal Court, with Homecoming Queens and Kings from Pottstown, Pottsgrove, Owen J. Roberts, Boyertown and Spring-Ford high schools.
There will of course be a healthy contingent of local fire companies.
Additional organizations are welcome to join in and there is still time to register at www.pottstownrotary.org or by emailing Pottstownrotary@gmail.com
There is also still time to help cover the costs.
Although the Rotary Club and GoFourth! committee are cooperating on their respective ventures, each stands alone and, as such, each needs its own financial support.
More donations are needed to reach the goal of $7,000.
Checks made payable to the Pottstown Rotary Community Endowment Fund should be sent to Rotary Club of Pottstown, P.O. Box 227, Pottstown, PA 19464. (Donations are tax deductible.)
To date, contributors have been the Scott and Susan Bentley Fund; Pottstown Hospital/Tower Health, VIST Bank, Pottstown AMBUCS, Pottstown Rotary Club and others.
