375th Anniversary parade still has openings Organizers are looking for community groups and institutions to join Saturday’s grand parade. By Sean Flynn Staff writer NEWPORT — A centerpiece of the city’s celebration of its 375th anniversary this year, a grand parade will step off Saturday at 11 a.m. from One Mile Corner at the Middletown line and head south on Broadway to Washington Square at the center of the city. “We’re still looking for as many community groups and institutions to participate as possible,” former Mayor Stephen C. Waluk, co-chairman of the city’s 375 Anniversary Committee, said Wednesday. While it would be difficult for groups to put together a float on such short notice, it would be nice to have representatives marching with banners, signs or other symbols, he said. Neighborhood groups, churches and civic organizations already have committed to marching, as have bands and orchestras. “We have some exciting musical acts participating,” Waluk said. “Whether or not people can participate in the parade, they should just come and celebrate the city’s 375th birthday with the community as a whole.” The parade is expected to end by 12:30 p.m., and then all participants, spectators and the public are invited to the lawn of the Great Friends Meeting House at Marlborough and Farewell streets for a community cookout. The cookout has been advertised as beginning at 2 p.m., but Waluk said organizers want it up and running by 1 p.m. so people in and at the parade will not have to wait. The cookout will include free hot dogs, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and soda. Dennis Sullivan, the city’s deputy zoning officer, is organizing the community parade. He has been organizing the well-known Newport St. Patrick’s Day parades in the city for 20 years, the past 16 years as chairman. “It’s still open,” he said this week about parade participation. “I’d like to get as many community groups and organizations involved as possible. Copyright © 2014 Edward A. Sherman Publishing Co. ! 06/19/201 The Kentish Guards Fife and Drum Corps from Warwick, seen at the Newport St. Patrick’s Day Parade in March, will be among the groups marching in the Newport 375th anniversary parade on Saturday. We want all the organizations, groups and companies that make Newport what it is today in the parade.” Sullivan can be contacted at City Hall at 845-5471, or by email at [email protected] Organizers do not want a replica of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and it won’t be, Sullivan said. He said 40 to 50 groups have agreed to participate so far. For example, he said a “Harp Donnelly Memorial Group” would be marching in the parade, led by family members and friends of the late mayor. Donnelly was mayor from 197181 and had six children, including Municipal Court clerk Sandy Henderson and longtime Newport teacher Marilyn Donnelly. Current Mayor Harry Winthrop and seven former mayors are expected to march. The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center will have a group marching, as will the Point Neighborhood Association and the Newport Recreation Reunion Committee. Churches including Jesus Saviour Church, St. Augustin’s Church, Emmanuel Church, Mount Zion AME Church and St. Spyridon Church all will be represented. Community groups such as Newport Festa Italiana and Forum Lodge 391 of the Order of Sons of Italy also will be marching, along with organizations such as the Newport Gulls collegiate baseball team and its popular mascot, Gully. Copyright © 2014 Edward A. Sherman Publishing Co. ! 06/19/201 The Pell Elementary School, Newport Hospitality Commission and Fort Adams Trust will have floats, and a float is being put together to represent the Rogers High School’s Athletic Foundation, Sullivan said. The Navy Band Northeast, Rogers High School Jazz Band, Thompson Middle School Band and others will perform during the parade. “There will be a lot of music in the parade,” Sullivan said. The local Ancient Order of Hibernians will be represented by its Pipes and Drums Corps as well as its singing group. Also marching will be the Rhode Island Highlanders Pipes and Drums Corps, which includes many Newporters. Many from outside the city will be contributing to the fun as well, such as the Night Life Fun Time Band from Warwick; Yankee Volunteers Fife and Drums Corps from Swansea, Mass.; Kentish Guards Fife and Drums Corps from Warwick; and the Firefighters Pipes and Drums Corp. from New London, Conn. Tony Lepore, known as the “Providence Dancing Cop,” also will be in the parade. “He does something like a ‘Saturday Night Fever’ on the road,” Sullivan said. “He’s retired as a police officer now, but he looks like he’s still in his 30s when he’s dancing, jumping and doing splits.” The United Service Workers local union that represents area workers on the bridges will be participating with its costumed characters, including Elmo of Sesame Street. Joining in the festivities will be the Rhode Island Shriner Clowns of Cranston and the International Tennis Hall of Fame mascot. The Museum of Newport Irish History will present dancers and St. Clare Nursing Home will have a van in the parade. The Jamestown Fire Department owns a horse-drawn pumper from the 1800s that once belonged to Newport. The horses won’t be marching, but the pumper will be drawn either by people or a vehicle, Sullivan said. Among the businesses participating will be the Water Bros. Surf and Skate Shop, Pour Judgement restaurant, the Landing Restaurant and others. “We have others still coming on board,” Sullivan said. TheNewportantFoundation’s Newport City Flag Marching Co., led by G. Brian “Dr. Love” Sullivan, is sure to draw attention. Brian Sullivan said he was hoping for a group photo with representatives from Portsmouth, which celebrated its 375th anniversary last year, but that plan has been put on hold. There will be no grand marshal in this parade. “That was a conscious decision,” Dennis Sullivan said. “There are so many people who are important to Newport and have done so much for the city. We couldn’t narrow it down to one person.” Copyright © 2014 Edward A. Sherman Publishing Co. ! 06/19/201
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