Community Corner

Brandon's Parade: A Viewer's Guide

What you need to know for the 2011 Greater Brandon Fourth of July Parade, including a list of units in order of appearance.

Update: People have been arriving early for the start of the 2011 Greater Brandon Fourth of July Parade, which kicks at 10 a.m. at the corner of Parsons Avenue and Lumsden Road. There, in the corner law office of B. Lee Elam, as is the tradition early July 4 morning, the town’s newest honorary mayor is announced. Receipts were counted in the charity race and collectively the two candidates, Cami Gibertini and Barbara Schwabe, raised some $72,000. Gibertini is the town’s new honorary mayor.

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Contrary to some reports, the 2011 Greater Brandon Fourth of July Parade is not headlined by any one group.

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Rather, it begins, as is the tradition for this homegrown, historic affair, with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and its colorguard, followed by a collection of military related groups.

Next up in the parade protocol are featured guests, which this year include the parade’s chairwoman, Marie Cain; the woman who will be named honorary mayor of Brandon; and this year’s grand marshal, Col. Lenny J. Richoux, commander of both the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa and the 6th Air Mobility Wing.

Find out what's happening in Brandonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The honorary mayor’s race will be determined at 8 a.m., when receipts raised in the charity campaign will be counted. The woman replacing the current mayor, Lisa Rodriguez, will either be Barbara Schwabe or Cami Gibertini.

Their sponsoring organizations, respectively, are the Center Place Fine Arts & Civic Association and the Kiwanis Club of Greater Brandon. Both groups will be represented in the parade, with Center Place featured as this year’s recipient of the Non-Profit of the Year Award presented by the Community Roundtable.

The parade is presented each year by the Community Roundtable, an umbrella organization for area charities. The group also runs the honorary mayor campaign and awards the Father of the Year and Alice B. Tompkins Community Service Award.

This year’s parade theme is “Community Pride."

This year’s Father of the Year is Joseph Davis, whose daughter, Jordan, penned the winning easy that led to his honorarium.

This year’s Alice B. Tompkins Community Service Award recipient is Sandy Pullinger.

Politicians and civic volunteers, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, ball players and cheerleaders, dance groups and krewes, businesses and performers are among the many offerings on view in what essentially is a live, moving billboard of town life.

Members of the Bloomingdale and Brandon high school marching bands traditionally have performed together and this year, for the first time, the Wells Fargo Wagon will be comin’ down the lane, drawn by four horses.

The route itself travels through those many things that make a town a home, including, for Brandon, the South Brandon Little League fields, All Persons Playground, Brandon Regional Library, Brandon Regional Hospitals, Center Place Fine Arts & Civic Association and lots of small businesses, some dating back 50 years or more. (See, )

Parade Starts

Parade starts 10 a.m. at the corner of Lumsden Road and Parsons Avenue. It runs north on Parsons, then west on Robertson, crossing Kings Avenue for a final rest at the Publix-anchored shopping center just west of Buckingham Place.

Sunscreen, Water and Food

“Definitely bring sunscreen, definitely bring some fluids, and this year we will have eight vendor wagons along the parade route,” said Janine Nickerson, vice president of the Community Roundtable and a parade organizer. “The offerings range from ices to hot dogs to nachos to ethnic foods. These are approved vendors, who signed up in advance, and any vendor not able to show proper identification will be asked to leave by sheriff’s deputies.”

Traffic

East and westbound traffic along Lumsden Road, between Kings and Parsons avenues, will be shut down from 7:30 a.m. until the parade’s conclusion, to allow for the parade’s staging. The parade typically runs for about two hours.

Staging

Parade participants line up, in order of the chart below, along Lumsden Road, heading west from Parsons Avenue (which south of Lumsden Road is John Moore Road). Parade participants are expected to line up by 9:30 a.m.

Reviewing Stand

The reviewing stand for the contest judges is in front of Nature’s Health Foods at 401 South Parsons Ave., which shares space in a strip center with the Copper Bell Cafe, where breakfast will be served starting at 7 a.m. Boxed lunches will be on sale as well.

Judges

This year’s parade judges are Laura Simpson of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce, Tony DelCastillo of the St. Petersburg Times Brandon/South Shore edition and State Rep. Rachel Burgin.

Below is a handy guide to the order of appearance for the more than 80 units of the 2011 Greater Brandon Fourth of July Parade.

 

Editor’s Note: More parade coverage to come. Please check back again.

RELATED COVERAGE:

2011 Greater Brandon Fourth of July Parade Units (in order of appearance)
  • Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
  • Colorguard, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
  • 290th Joint Communications Support Squadron (citizen soldiers representing the Florida Air National Guard, based at the MacDill Air Force Base)
  • Disabled American Veterans Chapter No. 83
  • American Legion Post No. 148
  • Marine Corps League Detachment No. 1226
  • Veterans Council of Hillsborough County
  • Vietnam Veterans of American No. 787
  • AMVETS Post No. 44
  • Buffalo Soldiers, Woods & Wanton Chapter
  • Sons of Confederate Veterans, Gen. Jubal A. Early Camp 556
  • Gold Star Wives
  • Mounte Posse, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
  • Parade Chair Marie Cain
  • Honorary Mayor of Brandon
  • The Community Roundtable
  • Grand Marshal Col. Lenny J. Richoux
  • Alice B. Tompkins Community Service Award Recipient Sandy Pullinger
  • Father of the Year Joseph Davis and his daughter, Jordan
  • Anderson's Acre Animals
  • Bloomingdale and Brandon High School Band Members
  • All-American Dog Training Academy
  • All Children's Hospital Guild, Brandon branch
  • Casper Company McDonald's Restaurants
  • Latin American Motorcycle Association
  • Limon Village Chapel United Methodist Church
  • Congressman Gus Bilirakis
  • Dance Quest International Inc.
  • Brandon Lions Youth Football and Cheerleaders
  • State Sen. Ronda Storms
  • Bell Shoals Baptist Church
  • Faith Cruisers, Bell Shoals Baptist Church
  • Salem Communications
  • Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan
  • Krewe of Shamrock
  • Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce
  • Florida Preparatory Ballet School
  • Krewe of Roaring Lions
  • Brandon Leagurettes
  • St. Petersburg Times
  • Greater Brandon Republican Club
  • Wells Fargo Bank
  • Cub Scout Pack No. 110
  • St. Andrew's United Methodist Church
  • St. Andrew's Cub Scout Troop No. 11
  • FishHawk Soccer Club
  • Brandon Tire & Auto Service
  • Brandon Ravens Youth Football and Cheerleaders
  • Huntington Learning Center
  • Brandon Elks Lodge No. 2383
  • Bright House Networks
  • Junior Girl Scout Troop No. 132 / Caloosa Service Unit
  • Brandon Lions Club
  • Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner
  • Consulate Health Care of Brandon
  • Emergency Care Help Organization (ECHO)
  • Calvary Chapel of Brandon
  • Hillsborough County Public Schools
  • Hillsborough Baptist School
  • New World of Celts, Brandon Chapter
  • Skateland of Brandon
  • Tampa Electric Company (TECO)
  • Rough Riders Inc.
  • Curves of Brandon/Valrico
  • Living Savior Lutheran Church
  • Lazydays Employee Foundation
  • Dynamic Painting USA
  • East Point Assembly of God
  • East Hillsborough County Democratic Club
  • WZPH 96.7-FM
  • Tres Amigos Cantina
  • Hispanic Republican Club
  • Sun Trust Bank
  • Kiwanis Club of Greater Brandon
  • Menchie's Frozen Yogurt
  • Boy Scouts of America, Gulf Ridge Council, Timucua District
  • Sirens of the Golden Sabre
  • Spirit FM 90.5
  • James-Rivard Buick GMC
  • Krewe of Fort Brooke
  • Teachers' Helper
  • Old Cracker Fire Company
  • Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Rescue


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