Not Quite Independence Day (NQID) Waterbury’s annual (not quite) Fourth of July celebration takes place Saturday, June 24, 2023.
The event is hosted and organized by the Waterbury Rotary Club. After gathering 40 community submissions, the Rotary chose "Peace, Love & the 4th of July" as the winning theme for the 2023 NQID celebration. The winning entry was from Lisa Sholk, who will receive a T-shirt and be invited to sit in the parade review stand to help choose the parade float that best represents the NQID theme, club officials announced. Parker Robinson, a sixth grader at Crossett Brook Middle School, created the winning logo design.
The festivities start at 4 p.m. with the Green Mountain Mile foot race followed by the parade. The parade route runs down Main Street heading north starting at the south entrance of the state office complex and finishing on North Main Street at the rail bridge entrance to Dac Row Field. Once the parade is finished floats can get back to the start point using Union Street, Rail Road Street and Park Row, crossing Main Street to get back to the state complex.
Prior to the parade, float organizers are asked to drive to the state office complex north entrance, off Park Row and arrive by 3 p.m. to be ready for check-in and review. Fire department personnel will direct people where to line up and where to park. Those who have special requests for parade lineup order can contact Sally Dillon
The parade is followed by a concert and community festival at Rusty Parker Memorial Park where the band The Hit Men return for another year. The community festival also features food and beverage vendors and kids’ activities.
The celebration ends with a fireworks display at dusk.
