The smell of a grill is wafting through the neighborhood. Kids and adults are riding on their bikes while others escape the heat by dancing through sprinklers on front lawns throughout Otsego County. Summer has most definitely arrived, and that means it is time to celebrate.
In just over a week, it will be Independence Day in the U.S. Flags and buntings are on display from Edmeston to Richfield Springs and from Cooperstown to Oneonta. It is the day for backyard barbecues, baseball games and family camping excursions. The Fourth of July this year marks the 248th birthday of our nation, and no matter how you choose to celebrate this joyous occasion, we will do so with friends, family, food, cold beverages, and memories that will last a lifetime. This is our holiday, and it is pure Americana. This year, three of the largest traditional celebrations will once again occur in Oneonta.
Neahwa Park will host the Hometown Fourth of July Celebration, which is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. The event, held by Hill City Celebrations (formerly First Night Oneonta), will feature a wide range of live music to entertain the crowd. Headliners Alex Torres and his Latin Orchestra are crowd favorites who always bring everyone to their feet because you cannot dance sitting down! Over the course of the afternoon, festivalgoers will enjoy their favorite foods and browse amongst the numerous vendors with their crafts and other items on display. But remember, this celebration is a favorite of kids as well. Bounce houses, youth activities, face painting and many more ways for children to enjoy the day will be available. Admission is free and so are the fireworks.
The Oneonta Outlaws baseball team will take on the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dogs starting at 6 p.m. Admission for the holiday matchup will be free. The Outlaws trail the Diamond Dogs in the Perfect Pitch Eastern Division standings, so they will need the community’s support to bring home a victory. The Outlaws feature five players from Otsego County on the roster this year and another dozen from New York state. Come by and root these local young men to victory.
The last of the three traditions in Oneonta on July 4 is the parade through downtown. The parade was destined for cancellation until a group of area organizations stepped up to make sure this event would live on. The newly formed parade team includes Hill City Celebrations, The Oneonta Rotary Club, Destination Oneonta, The Daily Star, The Oneonta VFW and the Otsego County Chamber of Commerce. This team will administer all the Oneonta parades, beginning with the Fourth of July. Our parades are back and they are here to stay!
The parade will begin at 1 p.m. and will utilize Market Street as the staging area. From Market Street, the parade will turn right onto Main Street and proceed through downtown until it makes another right-hand turn onto South Main Street at City Hall. This year’s grand marshal will actually be a team of grand marshalls. For 2024, the honor goes to the girls’ state champion 4×100 relay team from Oneonta High School. Maddie Seguin, Claire Seguin, Selene Wellman and Thalia Wellman will ride near the front of the parade in the vehicle of John Brooks. In addition to the grand marshalls, come down to see all the traditional favorite parade participants along with a lot of new marchers and riders.
All three of these holiday events are the result of the extraordinary efforts of volunteers and service organizations. As volunteers, they do not give of their time and effort for personal gain. They do what they do because they care about their communities. They value the way of life here. They value their friends and neighbors. They believe that children need places to play, have fun and celebrate, just as adults do. It is about community. It is about quality of place. It is about doing the right thing.
I have listed the organizations who have helped make these events happen. There are countless more throughout Otsego County. They exist in Worcester, Morris, Laurens, Cooperstown, Milford and everywhere in between. No matter where you live, these efforts are going on around you. As you celebrate this Fourth of July, I ask that you consider finding such organizations near you. If you need help finding one, contact me and I will help you. Who wants to join us?