 And a good good afternoon everybody welcome to Montpelier Vermont the capital of the state of Vermont Montpelier opens its doors to Everybody on this the 3rd of July for the 4th of July celebration My name is Brent Curtis, and I'll be doing a little parade work with you my co-pilot today is Kathy Apgar from Over in the Bristol area Kathy welcome aboard. Thanks Brian. It's good to be here. Thanks for having me here comes our first runners through So the Montpelier mile is in route right now Everybody's on the move and speaking of being on the move. Let's talk to Dan Groberg from Montpelier alive Dan welcome Oh, it's great to have you here Dan. This is an effort in love just plain love for you Let's talk about how many years you've been doing this and your various stages of involvement Has been working with the city of Montpelier to host events on July 3rd for more than 20 years And I've been at Montpelier live for four and a half years now This would have been my fifth event except we as you know had to cancel the last two years due to the pandemic You know, this is the type of thing that people always think that all that went by smoothly That must be really easy to put together take a minute if you will and Dan talk to us about the preparation That's necessary if people don't see the seams that means we've done our job Well, but it takes months and months of planning Big crew of people staff and volunteers to make it happen We start planning really when we budget for the year back in the fall, but in earnest in January planning for this event Outstanding and that can you tell me how big the team is that you have putting this together? Sure So I have an event coordinator and then I have a parade coordinator and a vendor coordinator And then a lot of volunteers and a lot of help from the city of Montpelier. Oh, that's just wonderful I'm gonna ask you to just shoot this one from the hip and that is about how many volunteers come together To help put this project on we've about 50 volunteers helping us today. Oh, that is just incredible Now, I know there's some major sponsors here. Would you like to just discuss the Absolutely, well as you might imagine it takes a lot to put on an event of this scale And I'm really grateful especially for our platinum sponsors national life group north country federal credit Union Community national bank and union mutual insurance and and also again to the city of Montpelier for in addition to the financial support a Tons of time behind the scenes police officers public works our department helping to make this happen And you know Dan the years that I have been here these names are all just about names I've heard before you have long-time family of advertisers, don't you we do north country federal credit unions new this year And we're very grateful to them for joining us But a lot of our sponsors have been with us for years and years And I think it's because they love Montpelier as much as we do and want to be here to celebrate with everyone Dan according to the Vermont Agency of tourism this is a this is a very big event for people visiting the state of Vermont It is I've seen people from all over We usually grow between 10 and 15,000 people to come down for this event and today It certainly feels like we're near the upper number of that. I'll tell you what we hit the beautiful weather today We had a little rain earlier on but it's showtime It's just about 74 degrees. The Sun is just dipping over the horizon Everybody's in a great mood as these milers come by and the idea is how did you plan? For this event and how did you plan to put the run first etc etc? Well, I ordered the weather specifically You know Some of it is tradition and some of it is new the the biggest change this year was that we had some Family performers on the State House lawn in the afternoon We we've had in the past activities or different events But what a really great group of performers this afternoon and that was a lot of fun But for the most part it's a similar schedule to how we've been doing it for a long time Dan let's talk about what happened on the Capitol lawn this afternoon give the give the folks an idea of what the events were And how it all came together. Yeah, well my favorite part of course is the food trucks If you love festival food, you will love being here There's just everything from fried dough to Indian food really because it's my failure So we have quite a variety diversity And then starting at two o'clock we had some performers on the State House lawn So we had John Gelmore who's a local children's musician We had Karubo who's that afro jazz performer from Burlington and then we had a really fun group Big nozzle along with the Providence drum crew here from Providence, Rhode Island and they are They dress up in these crazy huge alien costumes It's a really a sight to see with along with the drum line. They're gonna be in the parade So you'll see them in a little bit here, too You know, I thought the best logistical change was moving the food trucks to the Department of Motor Vehicles side and kind of opening up the front of the Capitol whose idea was that? Well, they've been there a few years We've tried various configurations Always a balancing act to get as many food trucks to keep the line short and make a great experience for our visitors as well Any idea how many food trucks showed up? We have about 30 or 35 trucks total about 25 of those are food trucks Yeah, outstanding now again great day people are all excited The talk around all kinds of media sources is whether or not with the current political Situation across the country are parades still attractive to the public my vote is yes. What do you think, you know? I think yes This is an event for independence day But really it's an event to bring the community together and celebrate all we have here in Montpelier and in the state of Vermont And so, you know, I think there's a lot of a valid concern about what's happening in the in the country And it's disappointing to me as well But this is just a great opportunity if you're down here you see, you know Your friends and neighbors coming together and it's about celebrating Montpelier person for a month What I'd like you to do for a minute if you would please Dan is just stop and reflect on Some of the highest points for you putting this program together Well, I think the day being here after you know checking a million things off the list and finally seeing it come together and Having all the people here enjoying themselves. That's my favorite part because like I said a lot of work goes into this behind the Scenes and you know, our goal is that when you come here, you don't see any of that work You just have a fun day. Well, I'll tell you what Dan Certainly in the minds of people from Montpelier and so many people that visit us here. You are an absolute rock star I congratulate you on a great project and we're just excited to get this parade underway this afternoon Again, we have something interesting going on and that is voting for the favorite performer in the parade Let's just talk about this because this was really fun last time we did it Yeah, you know, we really wanted performers to up their game and give us their, you know, their best shot And so a union mutual join us to sponsor a competition for the parade performers and people can text 802 200 090 a text boat to 802 200 090 8 and you can vote for your favorite of the people who entered the competition and the top prize is $500. Oh buddy. Yeah. All right now I think for people that are not particularly savvy with technology What they should know is that when you go to this particular location, they're all listed right there for you They are you just send a text message if you can do that You'll get a text back and you just say which letter to vote for and that's it on behalf of those of us who utilize Our nephews to help us do our phone. We thank you Kathy coming out of the New Haven Junction area. Do you have any questions for Dan and how things work? I'm just curious Dan how many towns are represented in in this effort. Is it all strictly a Montpelier effort, you know Montpelier puts on the event, but we have people from all over central Vermont come to this You know, we intentionally have our event on the third so that we're not competing with some of the smaller towns I do events on the fourth and so we'll have people from, you know, Worcester from East Montpelier from Dallas I heard someone was up here from Rutland. So people from all across Vermont really come And I thought that was brilliant by the way, you know, we have the Waterbury Parade that's on the 28th of June Which is wow, that's something but then I think the idea of doing it on the third first first of all, it's beautiful It's a Sunday. It's just an enjoyable time. And then you can also Add on to it a Monday wherever you want to go whether it's Morrisville, whether it's very But that was some great strategic planning. Yeah, yeah, absolutely I you know, hopefully I'll get to go out to the Western Parade tomorrow or maybe the Warren Parade the world famous Warren Parade Oh, absolutely. You're gonna be there tomorrow, Brent. I'll be at Warren. Yeah for radio Vermont So that's always a fun one to do right there. Well, you know, Dan I really appreciate you stopping by today and I if later on you're wandering around I want to invite you to come back if you would thank you so much for having me and I Encourage people to go on our website Montpelier alive.com to find out everything we have going on And if you're so moved enjoy yourself today, click on that donate button and help support events like this in the community Thank you, Dan. That's Dan Grover from Montpelier alive. Next. We're going to have Larry Siler come in Larry In the meantime, we're watching the Montpelier Milers who have come by us in one direction and then we'll be turning around they've turned around and they're headed back towards the State Capitol, so we're watching the runners of all ages and Having a really good time even some people in strollers some children strollers some toddlers running alongside parents and some older folks Like us printer actually doing the mile. I'm feeling it right now. I've got the burn Kathy Next up this afternoon is going to be Larry Siler his program is able and on the air Larry Welcome. Nice to have you here. Nice to have you was able to know and thank you so much for having me Speaking today. Oh, great. Give us an idea. What is all about and what you're doing and some new projects? You're working. Yes, my wife and I my wife Arlene and I do a show on orca media called able then on air Which focuses on abilities not necessarily the disabilities of people and we've had a wonderful show on orca media By the way, we want to thank them for helping us out Since 2015 we've been here in Vermont and we've been focusing on issues such as autism Many types of interviews Regarding people with special needs and we are sponsored and we have partnered with many Organizations we are sponsored by Washington County mental health green mountain support services and many others including the partnership of the division for the blind of Vermont and new New the new project that we are doing in September is a new sports show called grid iron sports talk which will focus on special needs sports Everything from wheelchair basketball to wheelchair soccer. That is exciting Give us an idea how you're setting that up if you would Larry. Yes, how we're setting it up We're setting it up with interviews And it is news about special needs sports Special Olympics will be on numerous organizations involving Special needs sports including the wheelchair basketball association So, how do you interact with these other groups specifically Washington County mental health? How does that work out? Do they come in? Do they do interviews? Yes, they come into the studio They've done numerous Interviews such as art and people with special needs art mental health During COVID it was really hard for people with Disabilities to get services. So Washington County mental health has been coming on to talk about COVID and mental health, you know Mental health services are extremely important, especially in today's time in age and Washington County mental health has been at the forefront of those services And it's extremely important to get the message out that those services do exist And that's why Ableton on air exists because of guests that come on the show Larry I want to take they say thank you very much for being with us today Look forward to next year and our interview. Okay. Yes, and thank you again to Orca media that has It's very important to To support people with special needs, especially those that don't have a voice Thank you. Thank you so much for having me on my pleasure, sir Thank you and happy welcome everybody back here. We're in the capital of the state of Vermont Montpelier And it is time for the parade. How do we know? Well, because there's a police car with blue lights We want to say hello to the Montpelier police department You can tell just by the sound of the crowd that they're very very proud of their public safety division Kathy and I grew up just a couple of couple of streets over we remember the older officers Kathy Sergeant Rock and the crew absolutely and They were always there to protect Defend and keep us on the straight and narrow Bottom line is we all we all were challenging But they did it and they continue to do that and it was great to see the Montpelier police Leading the parade this year Kathy first up. Why don't you take the first one? Hey, we see our neighbors from Vermont Montpelier vfw post 792 There's supporting the past the present and the future members of foreign wars the members of the post and auxiliary Love our service veterans. They provide incredible support to all veterans And we thank them all for their service and their continued presence in this parade Kathy mixed up as the USS Montpelier I just got goosebumps to look at all of these men from the Navy my goodness Well, go ahead. Give us some infight sight on this one cap. Well for many years the USS Montpelier Crew has traveled to Montpelier Vermont their namesake to be in this 4th of July parade and To have them here and to have them travel all the way from Norfolk, Virginia Just for this is really phenomenal. Yeah, just I get goosebumps to see them here and then to see another military presence And you know what that's a great segue But I just wanted to say thank you to all the members of the USS Montpelier for being here And we know that they they roll out the red carpet for them and speaking of rolling out the red carpet How about the 40th marching band Vermont's own 40th Army Band is comprised of everyday Vermonters They'll be performing tomorrow night at Smuggler's Notch for their 4th of July celebration starting at 8 p.m Find out more about the 40th Army Band at the Vermont National Guard talk to your local recruiter. What's your some music? Their numbers were not tremendous, but that sound is just wonderful nothing like a marching band And to see the military Looks like a representative from the National Guard right there. Absolutely there they are They're providing providing community support and disaster relief in the event of a state emergency here in Vermont Their mission the federal mission of the National Guard is to support active-duty army officers and national emergencies You can find them on vtguard.com One of the major sponsors that the band is coming by right now and that's the national life group join national life at their annual do-good fest scheduled for Saturday July 16 Do Fest is a great event and it's free. It's family-friendly It's held on the lawn of national life go to do good fest.com Reserve your tickets donations are encouraged but not required. That means it's free do good fest benefits the branches of hope The cancer patient fund is operated at the Vermont Medical Center Miss Vermont you welcome Bernie. Thanks for your service and Well quickly followed by US representative Peter Welch Serving Vermont and Washington DC both gentlemen do a phenomenal job And we're proud to have them in this parade and proud to have them represent Vermont in the US Congress And following those two gentlemen that we've got Molly for Vermont Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray is Vermont's 82nd current lieutenant governor Now Molly is running for Congress But she knows that our biggest challenges are about to come now She thinks housing childcare and climate change. It won't be solved by Vermont alone Please visit Molly for Vermont comm to learn more Molly Gray And don't forget for participants today because you need to text your drum-true Musicians acrobats like doing some dancing around the corner. Can you see their beautiful flags rainbow flags waving around the corner? And making sure that everybody is having fun Well so far this afternoon We've had a little bit of everything and what a great afternoon it is once again I want to remind you that you are watching the orca presentation of The fourth or fourth of July celebration on the 3rd of July come to you from Montpelier, Vermont You know, I had an interesting time And I was doing some research about what it was going to cost to do the fireworks and when we get another minute here I'm going to definitely chat about that one But coming up right now. I believe we have green light real estate now Whether you're considering buying a home selling a home or both the agents at green light real estate know this area They know Montpelier Berry Northfield. They know the real estate in this area and it's where they all live That's why they concentrate on this area They love being here and talking to you about great great things that can happen in this area And what it has to offer and a sweet little float Brent, you know a little toy house with all decked out with bunting and flags and Red, white and blue beads and children on the on the wagon. So thank you to them for participating Watson is running. She's currently the mayor of Montpelier. She's running for Washington County State Senate She's running a platform of climate action protecting working families And she's looking forward to meeting with each of you and hearing your issues. What's important to you You know, what would a parade be Kathy without a tractor? Hey, it's a John Deere. There you go right in Middlebury, Vermont So Connor Casey for the house Kate McCann Connor Casey are both running for the two vacant Montpelier house seats Kate McCann of Vermont to 2017 teacher of the year also small business owner Connor Casey is a current Vermont city counselor Excuse me from Montpelier city counselor an executive director of Gunsense of Vermont That was a 320 our John Deere tractor with a cab on it in case anybody was really interested in seeing I think it's gonna be the lone tractor. I think you might be right I just want to take a quick second to thank our production crew here Finn Chris Zach and Jen for putting this all together and making sure we look and sound fantastic on this parade day And here is the Worcester Vermont Historical Society It says come to Worcester for an old-fashioned fourth and that's exactly what they'll be doing tomorrow at 11 o'clock It says Worcester voices will be performing at four o'clock at the Worcester Village cemetery Cute float with a cow featuring the first cow of the parade Make sure to vote for your favorite parade performer at 802-200-0908. Thank you Worcester Coming up next is Gregory Thayer of Rutland. He's a candidate for the Vermont lieutenant governor's position There is a constitutional conservative a Republican his campaign is about we the people with a common-sense approach to governing This is there for Vermont And that is a big logging truck. He's got there with a grappler on the back. My goodness. It's seen a lot of work You know, it's always it's always interesting Brent for Especially folks that are that our vehicle hounds to see what what comes out in the parade You know, my kids always used to love to watch the the fire trucks and the fire trucks used to shoot water at the at the hot crowds and Just what kind of vehicles come so there's quite a mixture today. Have you noticed that? Yeah, I have and what a what a great combination Kids and big trucks. Oh, you bet And you can hear the music coming here the Filipino-American Association of Central Vermont would like to introduce themselves to the community by Participating in our parade today. They're a small but vibrant group. They've been active for four decades since the early 80s They're performing in the parade one of the traditional Philippine folk dances with music called tic-tac And I'll tell you what this is the first time they fit in our parade and we welcome them good to have them here Coming up next is Chris Winters. Chris is running for Secretary of State He's going to ensure that the Secretary of State's office remains effective when it comes to elections voting rights business registration and professional Licensing the many other excellent services Vermonters expect from the Secretary of State. Chris is ready to lead I Think that Vermont is blessed with a great number of leaders. Yeah, we saw two of them early I'm certainly Bernie Sanders has been a leader Can you move to this rhythm or what she the projects is a Vermont based non-profit Organization focused on sharing the values of West African culture through workshops performances in schools community organizations and venues our goal is to promote diversity through activities they say African dance and drumming Is the Vermonters for Justice in Palestine? Vermonters for Justice in Palestine called for freedom justice to the Palestinians human rights and equality to all those little leg uniforms What would have been this is the central Vermont little league composed of Berlin Cabot, Calis East Montpelier, Marshfield, Middlesex Montpelier, Plainfield and Worcester It's for all kids ages four to twelve and we have to stop and say thank you to their parents for making sure that worked Now we're looking at the Vermont Mountaineers. What a year they're having Kathy I'll tell you what skip has led that crew and they are knocking it out of the park There are certainly a fan the group of fans right behind us that are cheering for the Mountaineers welcome back You know it's so much fun because they look for our residents for these young ballplayers as they come to visit a Vermont And it's truly truly a community effort And it's awesome to have a team like that here so that those youngsters playing in a little league That are marching just ahead of them get to see what it's like to make that a career Coming up next fallen daffa also called fallen gong. This is an ancient practice to improve mind and body It's based on exercise meditation and the universal value of truthfulness Compassion and tolerance the beauty of goodness of fallen gong That practices inner selves shines through in their performance enriching the lies of all that they touch Let's take a minute and we'll get a wonderful opportunity to listen to this rhythmic session Who they stopped playing and I thank you very much to everyone for that Just to have just an absolutely Beautiful yeltsin for everyone And such a peaceful sound a truly peaceful sound Certainly a key to the diversity in this community and it is just wonderful to see this And follow closely following them is david zuckerman a candidate for the tenet governor Former legislator from heinsbert. He's running For his old office and believe it or not. He supports climate action economic justice And he's driving yet another tractor an international. I'm guessing that was from about 1948 1952 era You know, we see david a lot on a tractor during the political season. Yeah And I'm sure he uses it at other times as well They have just a pause in the parade just want to remind you this afternoon that you can vote for your best performer By dialing 802 200 0908 Text vote and then you get to vote for the best performer this afternoon and boy, that's going to be a great prize We'll talk about that in just a minute. We got jared devolved. He's running for state senate Jared is running to represent washington county stow Orange brain tree in the vermont state senate He is a democratic candidate in the upcoming primary election on october 9 He comes from and is committed to the working class of vermont a nonprofit executive and a former economic developer For the vermont. Oh, he was a director for vermont He has been a leader for climate action and a more equitable economy for over 20 years Kathy here's something near and dear to both of our hearts. That is indeed As we hear the music echo from the canyons of these buildings It just You know, people either love or hate bagpipes I I happen to be in the in the love category the catamount pipe fan players and drummers are playing traditional pipe tunes and I think the They tartan that they're wearing this in the mclaren flag They're wearing the typical Kilt with a spore on in front and playing full bags. Let's give a listen Democratic candidate for secretary of state. It was a nice mix of folks. Not she's the democratic candidate for lieutenant governor She is a former middle school teacher. She served in legislature for 12 years She's running for lieutenant governor to be a strong voice for all who call vermont home Vote for kitty toll the number of politicians almost Almost staggering in this particular parade, but as we've mentioned several times we've got We've got some primaries coming up august 9th Brent To vote in the primaries in vermont if you can't get to your local polling place John John campbell from state's attorneys and sheriffs right there right followed by the girl scouts Girl scout truth 30228 is a multi-level troop with girls from water very vermont area The troop is made up of girls from grades two through eight in addition to doing fun activities this past year They've actually helped out the community by raising money for local homeless shelter collecting donations for the food shelf and the humane society And making homemade valentine's day for the senior center boy. Oh boy. What a great organization How very kind and and holy Toledo to borrow one of your expressions. Holy Toledo. We're just inundated here with bicycles I believe these are from supported by onion river Outdoors just a full contingent of all sizes of bikes. There's an old banana seat bike. I don't know if you remember those 10 speed bikes bikes that are being that are oh, there's a tandem bike with an adult a child followed by a child's cart What a great representation and there is a bike with the fattest tires I've ever seen Brent you would be comfortable on that one with those big tires. I don't know Kathy Maybe yes. Maybe no. I really like my position right here Oh, I think that they're just exuding the energy that you can feel from this parade It's been so exciting to see everybody turn out young old Everybody of different abilities enjoying their time in the limelight here on main street And soon to be state street as they turn the corner And the Kellogg Hubbard library is back this year with an all new look And their book cart drills on friday night after the library closes libraries want to kick back and relax And they spend some time practicing precision drills and having speed shelving competitions A little of that extreme athleticism is on display Additionally, they have participants from the summer reading program. You can see the kiddos here They've made stars and and they've made characters from their favorite books The summer reading program theme this year is oceans and possibilities and their programs prizes challenges all throughout the summer to get These kids reading Christina Nolan is gonna is will be our next us senator according to her promo Christina has already cleaned up the state for you serving as vermont's us attorney Cracking down on statewide opioids crisis Now she's going to use her law enforcement background to serve vermont in the senate This is Christina Nolan us senate campaign And christina does have quite a history of of the work that she's done in her previous jobs Just like all of these people everybody comes to a job And it really is a job in politics to make sure vermont is represented And they come with a very very diverse experience and background that they they're willing to share And the next candidate is charity clark Running for attorney general for vermont. She worked at the attorney general's office for the past eight years Is an attorney in private practice before that? She's a native vermonter. She loves to hike take pride in knowing the communities in which she was raised and have elected She'll be the first female attorney general in the state of vermont Next up is bridget grace for states attorney of washington county Bridget's running for washington county states attorney currently deputy states attorney here She was born and raised in washington county looks forward to continue to serve experience dedicated and a true vermont And closely followed is ethan park Well, there's a there's a fly-in candidate here for test tailor for assistant judge, but then comes ethan park A candidate for state representative of washington four districts that includes mob piliar He's walking with friends and supporters The theme for him today is in freedom and unity. There is hope You know as I look around the red white and blue is all around us great shirts Great clothing. Well, I did my best. You know, I did my best I noticed that Indeed now ken jones who's running for state legislature representing mob piliar Ken has been a member of the mob piliar school board on the board for central vermont fiber and co founder Of the mob piliar energy advisory committee The japan american society of vermont seeks to improve cross cultural understanding and mutually beneficial interactions with between japanese And vermont individuals. They sincerely would like to congratulate america's birthday today washington county senator andrew perchlick washington county senator is motivated by decades of work and the climate conscious energy transformation He was elected in 2018 as a member of the education committee is advocated for the installation of ventilation system in vermont schools federal covid relief funds and work to provide substantial school support and programming And right behind them. This is this is becoming a rapid fire with sarah copeland hansas she is Really excited to be fighting for democracy and for your individual liberties She is certainly A dynamic leadership. She's proving dynamic leadership and hitting the ground running to fight for vermonters and ever changing political climate She is a candidate for secretary of state And coming right up is all together now families people of all ages dressed in costumes. They're carrying puppets and celebrating their independence right before them sneaking in Before the last candidate was zach sullivan running for state representative In district five He's here with the assortment of dinosaurs who wanted to to be fossil fuels when they grow up Who don't want to be fossil fuels when they grow up That's zach sullivan for us state representative Look at these beautiful cranes aren't they lovely They're just floating in the cool breeze. What a gorgeous day for parade. Indeed it is I think they plant they couldn't plan this better, you know just to have this weather And if there's anything better than watching a parade, it's being in a parade. Don't you think I absolutely agree your heart and soul Really get revved up when you hear the drums and You start moving in rhythm and you see your friends and neighbors all along the parade route It's always a great opportunity To see who's out this year And what a great relief it is to be back With our friends and neighbors after such a long confinement It certainly certainly feels good to get this fresh air and watch the energy coming through here Magnificent puppets here Absolutely magnificent And tucked in here between the globe and the sun We've got green mountain self-advocates a disability group for over vermont for all over vermont. We hope for full inclusion. They say I like to see the red white and blue walking down main street And here's a is it uncle sam top hat floating by Rory tebow for attorney general He's an experienced prosecutor rory has a strong connection To the community he serves and a commitment to justice rooted in vermont values as a veteran and forming army officer He leads from the front and is ready to advocate on behalf of all vermoners as our next attorney general This is to vermoners vermoners the integrity the courage and the grit That vermoners need in washington Next up is jonathan williams running for berry city's next democratic state representative stands for food economic security and better infrastructure and equity Check out there in the parade You might want to wait till it's done, but this one this one is certainly Certainly very thematic all of the walkers are also all dressed up for it coming up is erica reddick rigorous honesty Erica was born and raised in vermont from a very young age She knew that her purpose Was to make a difference in the community erica is running for u.s. Congress I think we're about to hear B tovans fit staying on the ground at the intersection of state and main Oh, and now they've come back to life. You'll be happy to know they've come back to life And they are doing the be well alive. We'd be will survive Dance at the corner of state and main I was coming up from state straight rent, you know that there was a huge turnout on the capital line Yeah, he was saying there was a maybe around 15 000 Wow, I I can believe it and like the streets are truly lined here in montpellier We haven't seen this in in many years and it's absolutely wonderful. Thank you for the treats Thank you for thinking of us It's wonderful to see it. It truly is. This is the spirit of america and democracy And speaking of democracy, here's the league of women voters to remind everyone democracy is not a spectator's sport they encourage Everyone to vote can register at their booth on the state house lawn The league of women voters for vermont In lube celebrating a country whose highest court has continued to roll back human rights They're peacefully protesting the modification of reproductive rights for all people in this country That's that's an interesting dynamic right there A set of drums for christmas It will come back to haunt you african drum and dance car. Aren't they wonderful Familiar name running for state treasurer now to follow the retiring treasurer beth pierce. He is Mike has been the commissioner at the department of financial regulation for the past six years And we all saw him during the covet Mike is followed by all things lgbtq We are a news and interviews orca media. Make sure you check that out on the internet as well as on your television 10 75 And that is lgbtq on orca And it also says vote for brenda Churchill in the back so Here's brenda for governor And of course everybody wants to be a star once they see the cameras on They're doing a great job coming up one more time for lgbtq I I think they sort of get interest first as things happen in in a parade for vote for brenda and the lgbtq folks have sort of commingled at this point I did not see the vermont mountaineers go by they were in their little wagon a little while ago Looks like ania dinio is here What's she running for again? She is running for the u.s. House of Representatives and she wants people to know that She wishes all participants and spectators are very happy for it There's those flags You know, there's just something very heartwarming about flags Well, I have to agree with this and a respectful display of flags. I think Everyone here is respectful of one another And while we have a pause want to remind you to vote for your favorite performer today And that's going to mean the union mutual five hundred dollar prize call 802-200-0908 text vote You'll get your choices and by golly. That will be a good thing. There's a lot of choices. That's for sure We've got a jeep gladiator touting deploy maloy He's running for u.s. Senate seat being vacated by pat lehy He's senator lehy Mallory is seeking to serve vermonters vermont in the united states of america Mr. Mallory is a west point grad and a retired veteran. He'll support and defend the constitution Come right up is paul bean for vermont this floats in support of paul bean for the vermont state senate of washington county Vote bean for traditional values and new approaches Nice bright where at f-150 xlt with the apollos in the back Giving us some live music Running for you represent to represent washington county brain tree orange a particular focus on housing universal health care and climate change Funds for everyone i'm up for this vermont vermont flood hockey. Yay The senator vermont pioneers are folks who love to play hockey and our sled hockey team made up of vermonters with physical disabilities Most of us have some type of physical disability. I know We're very familiar with that That makes sitting in a hockey sled the only way we can play the sport this year They won the new england sled hockey tournament in springfield mass Want to give a special shout out to my buddy john mccardle He is an exceptional athlete And john and i've been friends for a long time next up is mires murmell He's a republican running for us senate from manchester endorsed endorsed by governor mike huckabee mires is a conservative who wants to reduce inflation bring down the price of food heating oil and gasoline while at the same time fighting crime Can you hear it? Just listen for those drums and you're going to hear the fights any second. I know it you know this type of fife and drum corps really harkens us back to the roots of why we're all celebrating july 4 Yeah, I agree 1775 1776 And when the parade started it's interesting that when the parades started in in my failure in the late 1800s um, they did them early in the morning and they Always scheduled them for a saturday, so they would never interfere with sunday church services. Isn't that exceptional? It is actually the first day that the fourth of july was celebrated is when we go back to july 1807 and it was called national jubilee And now let's give a listen Space in st. Almond's romant named after captain the daniel hannahford a drum major in the war of 1812 They exist to keep the history of america alive through music. They are not related to the hannahford's grocery store. However Look at those bugs. I can't help it. It should feel like marching, doesn't it? It does. It really does coming up next Trisha Preston a lifelong vermont or democrat running to become the next lieutenant governor of vermont She believes in the promise of vermont is ready to lead vermont into the future She says it belongs to everybody. She'll bring vermonters together for every quarter of our state This is patricia or vermont Nice shiny truck with some nice mag wheels on there pulling a hay wagon remember to vote for your favorite presenter today your performer at 802 20000908 Let them know there are cash prizes available 500 for first place 300 for a second and 200 for third So make sure you hop on there at the end of the parade Merrick modan is a passionate young vermonter and he is running vermont pilier seat in the august primary These mont piliers works on the school board and city hall has inspired him to make changes for vermont youth This is maryc modan A young lad are you very young lad? Oh Possibly not recognized the mount sign number three motor core You know for as long as I can remember I've always seen the shreders represent at parades memorial day veterans day Any any parade 4th of july and they never cease to amaze and entertain children But they also do all of their work for children Whenever I see the shreders I'm compelled to talk about a police case Where I went to a rather sad apartment building where a little girl had been left alone making breakfast for her brother And her flannel nightgown caught on fire because they were heating the apartment with the oven Uh when I got there my first call was for emergency services The ambulance arrived and the ambulance captain said brent called the shreders I put in one phone call to a number that I had kept for 22 years And everything for that little girl was taken care of her family was taken care of It was the most incredible scenario I can describe And it's all because of these selfless men and what they do all year long and it's all about children And they support 22 Different shreders hospitals is not you know, I'm very familiar with boston shreders hospital But there are 22 around the country And we thank them for their efforts and so many children and families Have lived to tell Of the of the great work that they do and you know, if they could have a nickel for every smile That they bring out at a parade it would really help the whole project. You know, it's not just the motor core This is the motor core But they've got clowns and they've got you know all sorts of popcorn machines and they go wherever they're asked to go No, you know no hesitation. They just go and if you can see the street here in montpellier The motor core is is riding Down main street and stopping to shake the hand of every child along the way And waving to all of us grown-ups as well And there are probably half the people in this audience would love to be riding those go-karts Oh, you know, wouldn't you like to try it? Oh, absolutely My favorite one was the police car with that, you know, it's a push-me-pull you where like one end is going one direction The other's from the other. I uh, I always wondered how they do that. That's the one I want to drive And don't forget that these Shriners are responsible for the maple sugar bowl game between brahman and new hampshire Again all proceeds go to the Shriners hospital They're fearless. I mean they're driving up and over and alongside number three motor core Why then what do you call that like a stretch suburban? I yeah, absolutely That's a custom suburban made for them It's huge as long and the traditional golden red of the Shriners And you know what the Shriners just keep on coming They do they are just they do not have a small footprint in any parade because when they're called They turn out in force and that's what we have here today And kudos again to the Montpelier live committee for putting this all together. This is this is huge and it's You know, this is your 50th class reunion from Montpelier high school this year And this really harkens back to the time when we were kids here And there was such a presence Of neighbors and friends and support for everyone's opinions and support for being american And that's really what this has been about today You know, I took some time to do some research on fireworks and this year with the cost increases I was fascinated the normal 10 to 12 thousand dollar fireworks package the cities like Montpelier use This year, I've got to just double check because this year. It's up 350 In 40,000 to 40 thousand dollars. Wow, that's how much the increase has been for Fireworks well speaking of fireworks that's going to be come up later on tonight But as for us here today on behalf of all of us here at orca, I want to thank you kathy for being here My lovely sister It's just a magnificent to be able to share time with you and certainly do it when we're doing something fun together So once again, thank you for tuning in today kathy any last words Happy fourth of july and freedom for all happy birthday america so long for now