As the Seguin Main Street Program and the Convention & Visitors Bureau wrap up the 2019 Fourth of July celebrations, we would like to extend a big thank you to all the volunteers, organizations and businesses that make Seguin’s Fourth of July celebrations spectacular and one of the biggest celebrations in the nation.
“It takes a lot of hard work to celebrate as big as we do during the Fourth of July,” said Kyle Kramm, Seguin Main Street & CVB Director, “It takes countless hours from volunteers and staff to make sure Seguin’s celebrations are fun and safe for attendees and we want to thank everyone who has a hand in planning and working the events.”
This year’s festivities kicked off with Freedom Fiesta hosted by KWED on June 29. This community party takes a lot of work to organize and the small staff at our local radio station manage to do an excellent job every year, keeping the event free to the public.
Then came the Patriotic Concert as part of the Central Park Summer Concert Series. The San Antonio Symphonic Band, an all-volunteer band, performed a thrilling concert that got the entire crowd excited for Independence Day.
Thanks to the following local businesses, industries, and individuals who donated to support the Concert Series: The Guadalupe County United Way, Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union, Norton Rose Fulbright, Hexcel, CMC Steel Texas, Guadalupe Printing Solutions, GVEC, Tri-County A/C & Heating LLC, Anders Pierce Realty LLC, TRC, Armstrong, Vaughan & Associates, Caterpillar, Jack Walker CPA, Alamo Group, and Guadalupe Regional Medical Center.
The Seguin Parks & Recreation Department did a fantastic job with Fireworks Fiesta on July 3. The show was the biggest and greatest yet for the City of Seguin. Thank you to HEB and Niagra Bottling LLC for donating towards the Fireworks Fiesta.
On the morning of July 4, the City Secretary’s Office hosted the Flag Raising Ceremony in Central Park to honor the sacrifices made since July 4, 1776. Thank you to the American Legion Post 245 Honor Guard for posting the colors, Baylee Blankenship for singing the National Anthem, Rev. Jeremy Roy for saying the prayer, and Mayor Pro-Tem Mark Herbold for leading the Pledge of Allegiance.
Then came the grand finale to the Independence Day celebrations, the Biggest Small-Town Fourth of July Parade! With 130 entries in the parade this year, dozens of volunteers from the Rotary Club of Seguin and City of Seguin staff members were needed to help marshal the entries into the parade line up, provide directions to visitors and keep traffic flowing. The downtown streets were decked out in red, white and blue thanks to the Kiwanis Club of Seguin installing over 100 American flags.
Almost all the City of Seguin Departments work behind the scenes to host the parade, from Public Works delivering barricades, sweeping streets and picking up brush to the Police Department for directing traffic and providing security. Our Parks Department helps with set up and clean up for the parade, the Fire Department helps direct traffic and Planning produces the maps and helps ensure the parade staging area is cleaned. It is a team effort city-wide to ensure the parade goes on without a hitch.
Dozens of property owners allow the City to use their property for parade staging, Waste Connections provided portable toilets up and down the parade route and Whataburger #897 provided breakfast for our volunteers. Our parade judges Ken Centeno, Councilman Chris Rangel and Dana Hall had the difficult job of judging the parade entries and selecting our winners. Thanks to Andrea Hoffmann for being our driver for the judges and to Mary Jane Windle and Seguin ISD Board of Trustee Linda Duncan for emceeing the parade and keeping the crowd entertained. A big thank you to Stanley Naumann for always taking photos at our events.
We want to extend a big thank you to the 130 entries in the parade. These individuals, organizations and businesses braved the heat, decked out their vehicles and floats in patriotic colors and celebrated America’s birthday in style.
Finally, we want to thank the community of Seguin. The crowd of over 8,000 people who lined up along the parade route to watch the floats are what really make this celebration special. The excitement on the children’s faces, the tradition of saving your favorite spot and the comradery shared among all in attendance are what drives Seguin Main Street and CVB to ensure our parade keeps getting bigger and better.
We can’t wait for Fourth of July 2020 and the big celebrations we have in store for Seguin!