Registration to enter the annual Peachtree City July 4 parade begins Monday June 3 for Peachtree City residents and businesses.
Peachtree City folks get the first crack at it for a week before those in other areas of Fayette County, who may start submitting their registration June 10.
This year’s parade will honor the 40th anniversary of the last combat troops leaving Vietnam in 1973. All Vietnam veterans in golf carts will be grouped at the beginning of the parade. Those who have a Vietnam veteran in their family are asked to note such when they fill out their registration form.
Vietnam veterans who live in the city but do not have a golf cart are asked to email [email protected].
Anyone who has a red, white or blue golf cart that could be lent for the event, or might like to help in another way, is asked to email John Stern at [email protected].
This year’s July 4th will be slightly different, at least in advance. The City Council is expected to formally ratify an ordinance next week that will forbid the placement of any tarps or blankets until dawn on the morning of July 4.
That’s because last year the city had “spot-saving” tarps and blankets laid out several days in advance of the holiday, and residents complained that the items littered up the view of the city.
One city council member claimed that the resulting mess made the city look like “a shantytown.”
The ordinance would apply to tarps, blankets, tents, barricades, stakes or other items that are left out prior to the morning of July 4. Any such items left in city rights of way or on city property could be confiscated if they are left prior to the morning of the fourth.
Staking out one’s spot in advance has become a Peachtree City tradition over the years.as neighbors jostle for the most prime real estate, particularly for watching the July 4 fireworks show but also in some areas on south Peachtree Parkway for watching the parade.
