Brandon Fourth of July Parade on April 13 Meeting Agenda

Community members are asked to step in line with the 2011 Greater Brandon Fourth of July Parade, for which the Community Roundtable at its April 13 meeting will provide application materials.

The parade is back at its old, traditional route after a one-year experiment that brought the parade to both a Brandon Parkway and Providence Road and nighttime start.

What is being billed as the 54th annual parade will again start at 10 a.m. and run the course that for years saw its start with a grand sweep at the corner of Lumsden Road and Parsons Avenue, advancing with a turn west on Robertson Street and a final leg across Kings Avenue.

The parade ends at the Publix shopping center off Buckingham Place.

"Your participation is this event continues the meaningful tradition for Brandon residents, especially for the students," said this year's chairwoman Marie Cain.

This year's theme is "Community Pride.”

To ensure safety, parade participants this year will not be allowed to throw beads, candy or other items from vehicles. Instead, walkers representing each unit will be asked hand out the trinkets to curbside spectators.

The cost to participate is $75.

Wanted are floats, marching bands, military units, antique cars and anything else that best represents community life, including units that represent a town’s civic, cultural and commercial interests.

The Community Roundtable was formed more than 50 years ago as the Presidents Roundtable of Greater Brandon, to serve — as it still does today — as an umbrella organization for area non-profits.

The Roundtable runs both the annual parade and the race for honorary mayor of Brandon, a position earned by the candidate who raises the most money for charity. This year’s mayor is Lisa Rodriguez, who serves until the new mayor is announced before the start of the Fourth of July parade.

Candidates for honorary mayor are now being sought. So far, Cami Gibertini, senior vice president of USAmeriBank, has declared her charity race for the seat. The bank is at the corner of Kings Avenue and Oakfield Drive.

The Community Roundtable meets the second Wednesday of the month at the Center Place Fine Arts & Civic Association, which shares space with the Brandon Regional Library in the Sandy Rodriguez Center, at 619 Vonderburg Drive in Brandon.

Community members are welcome to attend. The cost to join the Community Roundtable is $20.