Millersburg brings back Independence Day celebration

Independence Day has become synonymous with summer fun, full of parades, displays and backyard barbecues, along with family and community gatherings as people come together for July 4 celebrations.

However, that community Independence Day celebration has been absent from the village of Millersburg in recent years, but a local group is bringing the celebration back to town this July 4.

Millersburg Village Council members Robert Shoemaker, Andrea Kellogg and Ryan Hershberger felt it would be a wonderful way to bring the community together to celebrate July 4 the old-fashioned way, noting the village has missed having a gathering on Independence Day over the past few years.

Shoemaker said he continually hears from people who miss the July 4 celebration in town, and he has spearheaded the drive to bring people together that day to honor and revel in the nation’s big day, especially with this year being the country’s 250th anniversary.

“This year is a huge year for us,” Shoemaker said. “Many people around here are too young to remember celebrating the nation’s bicentennial here in Millersburg. Back then we had about a two-hour parade and a lot of activities. People keep asking me, ‘Why can’t we do that again?’ We’re 250 years old. It’s important to do something on that day to celebrate with our community and county.”

The day will start at 10 a.m. and feature food vendors, a band playing on stage in the parking lot across from the courthouse, a talent show, a cornhole tournament, bouncy houses for the kids, a dunk tank, a costume parade for dogs dressed up patriotically and, at 2 p.m., the grand parade will begin.

The parade will feature traditional entries, but there will be some other unique entries that will enhance the parade. Shoemaker said there will be graduates of Millersburg High School walking in the parade by class, back to as early as 1946, with the last class being 1964, which was the final year for high school in West Holmes prior to consolidation.

There also will be a chicken barbecue presented by the local scouts.

Hershberger said that even though there won’t be traditional fireworks taking place, the event will serve to bring people together and promote bonding within the community and county.

“There’s always something special about having a celebration on July 4,” Hershberger said. “We have a lot of people who visit Millersburg that day, and our hope is to create something special for them.”

Kellogg added that when nobody took the reins to create a special event on Independence Day, the three of them felt someone needed to do something, and they figured why not them?

Shoemaker said the hope is to return to days of yesteryear when people got together to share in their lives, have a good time and reminisce over the past years.

Hershberger said while there will be plenty of activities and events taking place, the most important ingredient is the people.

“We’ll have everything there; we just need everyone to show up to make it complete,” he said. “It’s going to be a celebration of community. We need as many people, businesses and groups as possible to make this something special.”

Shoemaker said making the parade as big and inclusive as possible will only create more joy and celebration during the event. Anyone who would like to preregister for the parade may do so by contacting Shoemaker at 330-473-7715.