This year marks a milestone for Flag Day celebrations in Unadilla, as the 75th annual parade is scheduled to roll Sunday, June 14.
The parade line up for marchers will be at 2 p.m. at the Unatego Elementary School, according to an event news release. Marchers will include the Unatego Junior-Senior High School band, Scouts, youth sports teams and other groups.
“Everybody is welcome,” said Unadilla Fire Chief Tyler Post. “This one is important, because it’s the 75th anniversary, and it’s also the 250th anniversary of our country.”
Post said the parade was one of the longest-running of its kind in the country.
“We’ve had some years where weather was inclement” leading to concerns about hosting the parade, Post said. “We continued on and kept marching because the history and importance behind the American flag and celebrating it was more important that getting a little wet.”
The release stated that in the past, as many as 15 different departments and auxiliaries participated in the parade.
Tractors, ambulances, vintage trucks and cars and other vehicles also have appeared in past parades.
“It’s great to see all the interesting apparatuses that people put in, because it’s not just fire trucks,” Post said.
The release stated that Country Squire Realty will give out free American flags at the parade. The American Legion will be handing out poppies in return for a donation, which will go to support veterans and military families.
Additionally, the Unadilla Chamber of Commerce will give out 500 Unadilla-branded tote bags from its float, containing information on Unadilla happenings, the release stated.
The parade will be followed by a flag ceremony at the Unadilla Community House.
“The flag ceremony is done by the Scouts of America,” Post said. “They will destroy tattered flags and flags that are no longer able to be flown.”
To learn more about the parade, go to www.facebook.com/GoUnadillaNY.