by Kristi Hobson Edmonston and John Osborn ·
Friday, July 10, 2026
Aspen Ference holds the leads of Dusty and Cider, her miniature Highland cows, as 2-year old Spring smiles for the camera. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Jeremy and Ruby Haag eagerly awaited the start of the annual Fourth of July parade in a shady spot by the blinking light of Harvard’s “downtown” crossroads. Standing there among myriad spectators, Jeremy Haag paused for a moment when asked what he hoped the town’s celebration would look like in 50 years, when the United States of America will celebrate its 300th birthday. In answering, he did not talk about fireworks, floats, or even candy.
He said, “I hope we have the same sense of togetherness that we do on occasions like this. Sometimes things can feel divided, but we look around our neighborhood and feel togetherness.”
A sense of community was a common theme running through Harvard’s 250th Fourth of July celebration. Nationally, the country’s semiquincentennial arrived amid dueling and sometimes divided commemorations. In Harvard, residents and visitors alike said what mattered was community: neighbors supporting one another and local organizations, despite the heat, humidity, and perhaps differing political perspectives.
“It’s nice to come out where people are friendly and can get along in peace,” said Carolyn Curtain Carbonell, a Harvard resident for 26 years, who invited two friends to join her for this year’s parade. She elaborated, saying the celebration was a time to “try to put the negative stuff in the world aside for a little bit, because it’s a great country, even though sometimes it doesn’t feel like our leaders are.”
Saturday marked the tail end of a four-day heat wave in Massachusetts. The temperature reached above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with a dew point near 75, tropically oppressive even by New England summer standards.
Along the parade route, spectators sought out shady spots to beat the heat. Some carried battery-operated fans or wore wide-brimmed hats to combat the high temperatures and sun. To help the crowd stay cool, beach staff from Bare Hill Pond tossed water balloons and Harvard first responders used spray hoses from the fire boat. For movie buffs, Camille Bradley wielded a water blaster, mimicking a Ghostbuster plasma proton pack.
By afternoon, clouds and a breeze moved in, taking the edge off for the field games. “What was predicted to be a scorchingly hot day had just enough cloud coverage and breeze to make the Fourth of July parade and field events safe and enjoyable,” Committee Chair Christopher Chalifoux wrote in a letter to the editor.
The day began with the Great Harvard 4th of July Road Race and a kids’ bike-decorating contest on the Common. Ahead of the parade, the Congregational Church set up a station across from the Common with water, snacks, and open bathrooms for the crowd.
Callia Sintros and Grace McWaters sing the national anthem. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
As the start time of the parade approached, the crowd thickened and the atmosphere turned festive. Ellie Rose, 2 ½ years old, was among the attendees with her parents, T.J. and Anjani Rose. She embodied the energy of the gathered crowd with her wiggling and giggling as she and her family waited for the burst of sound that would mark the parade’s start.
Shortly before 11 a.m., led by a police motorcycle and four of the department’s cruisers, the parade kicked off from Depot Road and headed toward Town Hall. A color guard, consisting of retired Air Force Maj. Jon Schoenberg and Navy veteran Lorin Johnson, was followed by the town’s fire trucks and two ambulances, lights flashing and horns blaring. In recent years, Harvard’s public safety vehicles have been placed at the head of the parade so they can depart quickly in the event of an emergency.
Behind the last ambulance came a car reserved for this year’s grand marshal, Patricia “Pat” Jennings, who had organized the parade’s antique car procession for decades. Sadly, Jennings died just days before the event. Her daughter, Della Jennings, and two granddaughters, Patrice Jennings and Meaghan Jennings Mitchell, rode in her place.
This year’s Citizens of Note, brothers Jim and John Lee, rode together, honored for their decades of volunteer work on town boards handling conservation and open space matters. The Select Board’s citation, read at May’s Town Meeting, noted the brothers are so often taken for one person that longtime neighbors sometimes forget they are two, “even though everyone in town knows them and knows their individuality.”
The Nashoba Valley Concert Band came next on a flat bed truck—room enough for 12 players—followed by a half-dozen antique cars led by a red MG convertible. Unlike last year, there was no limit on the number of vehicles allowed to participate, and spectators were treated to three waves within the parade of cars and trucks of assorted makes and eras. There were 18 antiques in all, with a pair of contemporary Jeep Renegades bringing up the rear.
Political advocacy was notably absent from the parade. Most Democratic Town Committee marchers—joined by Middlesex and Worcester District state Sen. Jamie Eldridge—carried patriotic rather than partisan signs, reading “Celebrate our Constitution” and “Cheer if you love democracy.” One sign read “Democrats defend the rule of law,” and another quoted Benjamin Franklin: “It’s a republic, if you can keep it.”
The Harvard Republican Town Committee truck featured an inflatable elephant but displayed no signage. Marching with the committee were Gary Grossi, candidate for the Massachusetts 3rd Congressional District, and Tim Shea, state senate candidate for the Middlesex and Worcester District.
Neither the League of Women Voters of Harvard nor last year’s Walk for Peace group marched this year. Harvard Resists, which organized protests this spring against the policies of the current federal administration, was also absent.
The rest of the parade was, as always, a town introducing itself to itself: the Conservation Trust’s beaver-and-birdhouse float, the rowing club, Carlson Orchards’ wagon with its seasonal crew from Jamaica, the Climate Initiative Committee, Westward Orchards with three mock cider doughnuts perched atop its float, the Snowmobile Club, and a Hazel Realty and Harvard Tree and Landscape truck carrying a model rocket. Two cows, Cider and Frosty, drew their own crowd near the parade’s end. Visiting from The Farmstead, with their humans, Bill and Aspen Ference, they welcomed gentle pats from parade goers between floats. Decorated tricycles closed the procession, trailed by a police cruiser and the inevitable traffic, backed up along Ayer Road due to the parade.
Organizers estimate the parade drew approximately 600 to 750 spectators, roughly two-thirds of last year’s turnout. The dip in attendance was attributed to the excessive heat and humidity, as well as the timing of the holiday, which fell on a Saturday.
Christopher Chalifoux, chair of the Fourth of July Committee, told the Press the year’s tie-dyed commemorative T-shirts sold out well before July 4 and attendees and sponsors had been generous with their donations. He hadn’t tallied a final number but expected the committee to do “better than breaking even,” in covering its costs for the free event.
Emily Gusek, attending with her family who have lived in Harvard for 15 years, said she came to the parade “to see my friends and to get candy.” Gummi bears to be specific. Parade participants carefully tossed handfuls of candy to those eagerly waiting by the sides of the road. Some of the youngest parade goers, like the granddaughters of Ken and Pam Cochrane (Harvard, 30-plus years) had designated grown-up “helpers” to assist in gathering candy.
The crowd emptied onto the Bromfield School field for a flag raising and the national anthem, sung by Bromfield students Calia Sintros and Grace McWaters. Andrew Sinkewicz, husband of committee member Molly Sinkewicz, hosted the field events, which wrapped up by 2 p.m. Bromfield’s boys soccer team ran the games, as it has for roughly a decade, drawing the usual crowds to the greased pole and the pie-eating contest, along with sack races, three-legged races, and an egg toss. The Harvard Lions Club served its traditional fare—burgers, fries, and fresh-squeezed lemonade—with the food line stretching at its peak from one side of the field to the other.
The Lions Club volunteers working the concession stand had their own reflections on the anniversary. “It is the most positive thing we can do right now, under the circumstances of where everything is,” said Deb Pierce, a former Bromfield biology teacher volunteering at the stand. “It makes us feel good to be helping people.” Fellow volunteer Shannon Boeckelman agreed. “I think anything that brings people together is positive,” she said.
Asked what she hoped Harvard’s Fourth might look like at the country’s 300th anniversary, Pierce did not hesitate. “I would hope we could keep this going,” she said. “This is unique. This is pure New England.”
The Fourth of July Committee’s three appointed members, Chalifoux, Molly Sinkewicz, and Rosemary Ouellet, oversee the event each year alongside year-long volunteers Pam Marston and Colleen McFadden, and, until this year, Pat Jennings.
By early afternoon the crowds dispersed, the games finished, and the tropical heat lingered over Harvard. Perhaps the words of Boeckelman best summed up the day: Harvard’s Fourth of July celebration showcased an “amazing sense of community.”