4th of July parade sparkling > Thousands gather in Greater Bangor area to sample festivities

Though dark, gray rain clouds loomed over the Greater Bangor area during the hours preceding Sunday’s Fourth of July parade, the sun burned through and cleared the sky just as the early birds were beginning to line the route, looking for the best perch from which to watch.

On a day that began with a pancake breakfast and closed with a free concert and fireworks, folks from Bangor, Brewer and beyond marked Independence Day with a burst of patriotic pride.

To the delight of the casually attired spectators — thousands of whom lined the parade route from the corner of Wilson Street and Acme Road in Brewer to Exchange Street in Bangor — this year’s edition of the annual parade provided a full hour of mobile entertainment, whether on foot or in a variety of conveyances ranging from miniature and antique vehicles to flatbed trucks pressed into service as floats for the day. This year’s edition did not disappoint.

In honor of the holiday, flags and the colors of red, white and blue figured heavily in most of Sunday’s activities. The parade was no exception, with dozens of U.S., Maine and other flags carried by several honor guards, including a contingent from the Bangor-based 101st Air National Guard Refueling Wing.

There were clowns, broadcast media personalities and politicians, the latter category including U.S. Rep. John Baldacci and U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe and a contingent of city councilors from Brewer.

As Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts walked or rode the parade route, waving to spectators along the way, majorettes from as far away as Nova Scotia dazzled the crowds with their shiny, sequined uniforms and their skills with batons. Demonstrating their mastery over pompons were pupils of Classic Cheering in Bangor.

What most parade-goers came to watch, however, were the bands.

Bands provided accompaniment ranging from bagpipe airs to Dixieland and rousing marches, the latter an apparent hit with the children who marched alongside them for a few paces and the toddlers clutching small American flags in their chubby hands.

Making their first appearance in the Bangor-Brewer Fourth of July parade were members of the Governor’s All-Maine Band, a group of local musicians formed into the area’s newest marching band by Leith Wadleigh, owner of the Governor’s restaurant chain. The band members looked sharp, with their shiny instruments and snazzy red vests, white shirts and black slacks.

Into vehicles? This parade had plenty. There were military vehicles, a convoy of firetrucks from most every department in this part of Penobscot County and antique vehicles, among them Pelky Oil’s 1941 Dodge all decked out in Fourth of July bunting of red, white and blue.

Sunday night, thousands of people lined up along Main Street and anywhere else they could, to get a good view of the fireworks display.

An estimated 700 to 1,000 people shelled out the $1 admission fee that allowed them to watch from the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge, which is otherwise blocked off to viewers. For another 50 cents, observers could get 3-D glasses that added a kaleidoscope effect to the fireworks and even street lights for that matter.

The money raised Sunday will go toward next year’s fireworks, said Ron Lunn, president of the Fourth of July Corp.

Four-year-old Logan Norton of Brewer may have had the best seat on the bridge, perched on her father’s shoulders. It was her first display, her father said, and Blue Hill Pyrotechnics didn’t disappoint.

“I liked the purple ones,” Logan said, after the fireworks concluded.

Many other colors lit up the sky in Sunday’s show that lasted about 20 minutes. Waiting in traffic afterward took even longer. Cars and trucks, previously parked on every side street, hit numerous bottlenecks as they all headed for the same main roads that led home.

Blue Hill Pyrotechnics put on a spectacular show, hurtling blues, reds, whites, greens and other colors into the air. Some rockets left a white trail of smoke behind, letting viewers see where they would explode. Others were more stealthy, the only indication they had been fired off being the orange flame and the sound of dull thuds coming from the launch pad down by the river.

The show ended with an all-or-nothing burst of color that lasted a minute. The resounding conclusion of the show was followed by thundering applause from the people on the bridge.