Instead of traditional parade downtown, Aurora to host Fourth of July procession through city - Chicago Tribune

The city of Aurora’s Fourth of July celebration will look different this year than in years past, with a procession of city-related vehicles to be held around the city instead of the traditional parade downtown.

Several Aurora parade volunteers received emails from the city’s community events manager stating “due to a variety of factors and after careful consideration,” the city is shifting the parade to a vehicular procession composed of mainly city-related vehicles. The memo said they will not need any volunteer assistance the morning of the parade.

Aurora officials said in order to reach a broader community, including senior citizens in nursing homes, the city is moving from its traditional downtown parade route to a community procession including public safety vehicles and a “trolley of heroes” filled with local veterans.

The city previously used this format in 2020 due to the pandemic, but returned to the downtown parade in 2021.

Aurora spokesman Clayton Muhammad said the city had enough volunteers to host the parade this year and a typical number of participants interested in taking part. However, officials have noticed a declining number of spectators at the parade over the years.

“We always have had the most residents at our Memorial Day parade and we’ve always noticed a difference in spectator participation,” Muhammad said, adding that while last year’s parade was a unique event due to the pandemic, attendance was still lower than anticipated.

Dozens of Aurora residents posted about the parade change on Facebook Wednesday morning in outrage. Aurora resident Casildo “Casey” Cuevas said he migrated to the United States and feels like the rug was taken out from underneath him as far as celebrating America.

“I’m at a loss for why something this great that has such a meaning of patriotism isn’t happening,” Cuevas said of the traditional parade. “It’s like apple pie to the USA. It’s something so instilled in us that why would they veer off and not have what people look forward to? From the marching bands and the not-for-profit organizations, we want to celebrate this country and the city isn’t allowing people to do that.”

Parade units that signed up to participate were told Tuesday afternoon in an email from the city about the move to the procession limited to city vehicles.

“We do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but look forward to working with you in the future,” the email stated.

Aurora resident Kino Garza, who owns the Worth a Shot Photography and Film business, said he signed up to participate with two vehicles in the parade last month and was really disappointed when he heard the news.

“The parade has been a tradition for years and I’ve taken my kids to it forever,” Garza said. “This is the first time we were going to participate and they were really excited. We spent the last week packaging up items and I gotta go home now and tell them never mind.”

Garza said he does not know the circumstances behind the switch, but wishes he knew about the change before he bought a bunch of customized water bottles and candy to hand out during the parade.

News of the change concerning the Fourth of July parade in Aurora comes after the city already struggled to host the Pride parade earlier this month after having problems finding enough police officers willing to work overtime to staff security at the event.

The city three days before the event offered triple overtime pay to police officers who would work the parade on their own time to help provide the needed security.

Since the traditional Fourth of July parade has been city-sponsored, Muhammad said on-duty officers have been used and supplemented by additional off-duty officers.

The Fourth of July parade is a city-run event that the city budgets for each year under its special events fund. In 2022, the city has budgeted $1.8 million for all of its special events.

Muhammad said the city looked at community impact and cost savings when making the decision about the parade.

If around 3,500 people show up at the parade, he said the city has to consider the overall impact of the event in relation to costs associated with the parade including paying for security, fencing and other event-associated expenses.

“We know we can reach triple, quadruple the amount of people with much less cost and more energy to kick off Fourth of July in an efficient and equitable manner,” Muhammad said of the procession.

This year’s Fourth of July procession will begin at Phillips Park on Aurora’s East Side at 10 a.m. and travel past Sunnymere Nursing Home before going through downtown. The procession will continue through the West Side of Aurora and travel back east on Indian Trial Avenue to the Far East Side before heading south on Eola Road. The procession will conclude at Aurora Fire Station 12 at Eola Road and Hafenrichter Road.

The route will have designated “candy zones” where the procession will slow down and candy will be distributed to spectators.

Muhammad said the city received calls Wednesday from residents about the parade and one woman told him she will really miss the feel of being downtown. He said that the city honors family traditions and the procession will still run throughout downtown.

“We will take a look at things after this year, but I was in the procession two years ago and that energy was palpable,” Muhammad said.

City officials said the full route will be posted online this weekend at https://ift.tt/T2JaHBM.

“We look at residents of nursing homes and they aren’t coming downtown because of transportation and the heat,” Muhammad said of the procession. “Now, it’s not a trek to downtown and it’s in a closer nearby area, for some people it is in their front yard.”

The annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration will be held later in the evening at RiverEdge Park and McCullough Park, with fireworks beginning at 9:15 p.m. RiverEdge Park will feature DJ Suavesmooth and food vendors. McCullough Park will feature DJ Pena and family-friendly entertainment, city officials said.

Food trucks will also be available at the new Wilder Park Promenade.

mejones@chicagotribune.com

slord@tribpub.com

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Instead of traditional parade downtown, Aurora to host Fourth of July procession through city - Chicago Tribune
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