The sound of drumbeats echoed down Central Street, followed by cheers from a crowd dressed in red, white and blue. As a white vintage Plymouth Valiant rolled past, it caught the eye of 75-year-old Frederick Ash. For the Winnetka resident, the annual Evanston Fourth of July Parade is more about connecting to the past than dressing up or watching fireworks.
“Every year, mostly at the beginning of the parade, the owners drive their antique cars,” said Ash, who has attended for over 15 years. “That’s the only Plymouth Valiant I’ve ever seen around here. They remind me of when I was growing up because they’re from the ’60s and ’70s.”
Ash said it also reminds him of childhood Fourth of July celebrations in Winnetka, where he and his brothers would attend a smaller event with their parents. Those gatherings included activities like sack races in the park, but he said he enjoys Evanston’s longer and more diverse parade.
Hank Welch, 75, has been attending the parade since he was 5. Welch, who has lived in Evanston for nearly 40 years and attended local schools, said the parade has always been a special event in the community.
“The best one is that in the mid or late ’50s when Walt Disney had a TV show called Mickey Mouse Club and they announced they were going to be opening up Disneyland in California,” Welch. “They had a float that came down Central Street with the Musketeers, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Goofy.”
Unlike Ash and Welch, who have attended the parade for decades, Kara Johnson (TGS ‘17), a Northwestern English Ph.D. graduate, said she is just beginning to build her own parade tradition with her family. The 33-year-old said returning to Evanston for the celebration feels like coming home.
“I went to Northwestern for graduate school, so I love coming back to Evanston,” Johnson said. “This is our second time coming, and it’s become our little tradition along with [getting] hot dogs, so we always plan ahead for that.”
Wilmette resident Kristi Laveau said the parade marked the start of a new family tradition with her husband and infant daughter. After spending the day enjoying nearby events like the Gillson Park party and fireworks, she said the family is excited to keep exploring local celebrations in the future.
“This is our first Fourth of July with her, so we’re trying to make new family traditions,” the 34-year-old lawyer said.
Welch said it’s the shared memories and the strong sense of community that keep bringing him back. That feeling, he added, was especially strong after the Highland Park shooting three years ago.
“There were hundreds of people affected by the incident,” Welch said. “Sixty wounded and seven killed and that community picked everything up and made sure that everybody was safe. That community is very close to what this community is.”
