Naperville celebrated Independence Day by decorating their neighborhoods with red, white, and blue.
Though the City of Naperville doesn’t have an official Fourth of July parade, that hasn’t stopped neighborhoods from getting permits to hold their own.
The first to ride into the holiday with a bike parade was the Huntington community.
“Somebody came to our board and said ‘why don’t we just do a bike parade and have all the kids decorate their bikes and it just kind of went from there,” said Karen Kuhn, a board member for the Huntington Association Board. “I think it’s been going on for five or six years and we’re excited that the Naperville Fire Department helps us out and leads us off with a fire truck, and it should be a good morning.”
Kids of all ages rode through their neighborhood with a Naperville fire truck, and even had a chance to take pictures with the firemen too.
And heading across town, Brookdale community members celebrated their 40th parade and picnic. 250 friends and families were joined by Mayor Steve Chirico, Boy and Girl Scout troops, and of course veterans.
“It’s fun to see everyone come out and get together as a community on the streets. Just to see a lot of the old neighbors and friends is a lot of fun,” said Rick Larsen, a former resident of the Brookdale community who came to the parade.
The Brookdale parade ended with a picnic at their community center, bringing everyone together to remember what the holiday is all about.
“So that’s one of the special things about the Fourth of July – we appreciate all our veterans and everybody who’s serving over there now. Our community really supports them and their families,” said Vice President of the Brookdale Homeowners Association, Barbara Sullivan.
Supporting America’s independence with the stars and stripes of our communities.
Happy Fourth of July!
Naperville News 17’s Christine Lena reports.
