Bellaire’s July 4th Parade and Festival

(Photo: Mary Cohrs) 

Editor’s note: “An Intern’s Insight” is a recurring blog by our summer interns. This unedited content is strictly the opinion of the writers, and not necessarily of The Buzz. In this blog post, intern Alex Daily writes about the Bellaire July 4th Parade and Festival. See more photos on our Facebook page.

As a resident of Bellaire, nothing feels more like the Fourth of July than celebrating during Bellaire’s parade and festival. After not attending for a few years, I was finally able to go again last year when I was an intern at The Buzz.  While there, I was reminded of how special the parade is, and how much work goes into planning such a spectacular event.

While attending this year’s parade, I overheard a resident say, “It’s just like a small town parade. It’s nearly the same every year, but everyone still comes to wave to everyone they know.” To some degree, this is true. Bellaire manages to attain a small town feel despite being situated in the heart of the fourth largest city in the United States. The parade allows us to celebrate this by talking to residents we didn’t know before, or reconnecting with old friends who live, or have lived, in Bellaire.

I spoke with Cheryl Bright-West, Recreation Superintendent of the Bellaire Parks and Recreation Department, to learn more about the parade so many have come to love. The parade and festival this year, the 36th anniversary since its inception, was one of the biggest Bellaire has ever hosted, both in physical size and the number in attendance. For the first time, residents were able to use the newly built Pavilion and Great Lawn during the festival.

Bright said it takes about six months to plan the event and that though it is mainly hosted by Bellaire Parks and Recreation, it takes the support of the entire city to put on the parade and festival. Additionally, she said that the Police Department, Fire Department, Public Works, and the Library all help organize the festivities.

Two categories of awards were given out at the parade: best float and best in the Children’s Parade. In the floats category, Bellaire United Methodist Church won first place, Bellaire Future Farmers of America took second, and Cayson Graye Homes got third.

In the Children’s Parade, Amanda Huttenbach, dressed as Lady Liberty, won first place. Gregory Huttenbach, who came as Uncle Sam, was awarded second place. Harper and Holden Moore won third, Melanie Lopez got fourth place, Lena Hollis was named fifth place, and Aaron Spinnato was awarded sixth place.

It makes me happy to know the city pride Bellaire has is so strong and that the parade and festival will continue to grow.