WASHINGTON—Hundreds of people exercised their right to the pursuit of happiness, as they gathered undeterred by the nearly 100-degree heat to watch the 2012 National Independence Day Parade, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., July 4.
Polished and prepared marching bands kept step as they marched down Constitution Avenue, with crisp uniforms and flat top hats with feather plumes. They were joined by members of the military community, and cultural organizations.
“It exposes Americans to what is going on in America, with the different groups” said Mr. Bond, who came to Washington, D.C. from New York with his wife to see the parade. Bond is originally from Ghana, and the event marked his second Fourth of July in the United States.
On Constitution Avenue, people joined with family and friends for the event. Some remained close to the sidewalk to get a good view of the parade. Others sat back in the grassy areas, under shade of the trees, and enjoyed some of the ice cream treats being sold nearby.
The marching bands played mixed tunes, ranging from traditional American fanfare to music inspired by hip hop. The invited marching bands came in from across the United States, including the Kellis Marching Corp. from Glendale, Ariz.; John H. Reagan Band, from Houston, Texas; and the Statesboro High School Blue Devil Marching Band from Statesboro, Ga.
Joel Siegel from Brooklyn said, “It was very patriotic.”
Rachel Stone, a 16-year-old volunteer with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which was also taking place on the National Mall, said, “It was very festive. I was impressed that the bands were playing in the extreme heat.”
Military, cultural, and community organizations that participated in the parade included the 9th and 10th Horse Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers; the Marine Corps League—with a float showing a live re-enactment of the World War II memorial; Raising the Flag at Iwo Jima—the Woodside One Wheelers from Topsham, Maine, with some people riding unicycles in pairs of two; and the Divine Land Marching Band performed, followed by a lotus flower float with bright pink flower petals and green leaves that read “Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance.”
Massive balloons of Uncle Sam and a Fraggle—from Jim Hensen’s cartoon program “Fraggle Rock”—could also be seen in the parade floating down Constitution Avenue past the iconic Washington Monument. Young members of the 4-H club from Maine, and the National Independence Day Parade volunteers held tight to ropes attached to the balloons to keep them from flying away.
The 2012 National Independence Day parade commemorates the approval of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The 1,328-word declaration, written by Thomas Jefferson, establishes the 13 original colonies and presents Jefferson’s famed words:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Congress voted to make Independence Day a legal holiday in 1938.
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