Submitted by Irene Hatherley, co-chair, Westborough 300th Anniversary Committee
“I love a parade;
The tramping of feet,
I love every beat
I hear of a drum.
I love a parade;
When I hear a band
I just wanna stand
And cheer as they come!”
From the Cotton Club show, “Rhythmania.” 1931, Arden and Ohman
Westborough – “Everyone Loves a Parade” and Westborough is going to have a great one to celebrate the 300th anniversary of our town. The parade will officially begin at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. More than 130 units consisting of floats, marchers, and bands will line up at the start at Ward’s Corner and make their way down Main Street to the corner of Lyman Street and the Hastings Elementary School, a distance of 2.3 miles.
The 300th Anniversary Parade Committee, chaired by long-time Westborough resident, Roberta Brown, has been working diligently to prepare an outstanding lineup of parade participants to mark this significant milestone celebration. The Parade Grand Marshal, Lydia Goldblatt, will be front and center as she leads the way down Main Street. Lydia was selected by the organizing committee to serve in this role and be recognized for her many years of service to Westborough as a member of many town committees including the School and Finance Committees, 13 years on the Board of Selectmen, a coach for youth baseball and softball, dedicated work with school parent group organizations, and as chairman of the September 11th Tenth Anniversary Committee.
Lydia will be joined by another special honoree, Kristina Allen, our Tricentennial Marshal. The committee selected Kris for this special recognition for her noteworthy dedication to the preservation of our town’s history and for her role in educating our citizens, young and old about this history. Kris has served the town in many ways including her work with the Westborough Community Land Trust, several town committees, the Historical Society, the Girl Scouts, and 12 years as a selectman. Kris authored the historical record of Westborough’s history, “On the Beaten Path”.
We will be paying tribute to the many important contributing aspects of our town including our town officials, elected representatives, veterans and military groups, town guardians – police and fire, educators and school groups, the business community, community service organizations, and our churches and temples. We have many entertaining participants that are placed throughout the parade. Look for the exciting Aleppo Shriners, the Aqua String and Woodland String Mummers Bands, the Westborough High School Marching Band, two American Legion Marching Bands, Clowning for Kidz, and a host of colorful floats created by so many town groups and organizations. Our parade will end with a big bang as the nearly 400 members of the “Rose Bowl bound” University of Massachusetts Marching Band, The Power and Class of New England, march and play their inspiring music as they go! There are far too many units to list them all here, but we will be publishing a complete program of participants as we get closer to September 10th. For sure, everyone will love this parade!
For more information visit www.westborough300.com and on Facebook.
