Per the Courier's own reporting it takes 650,000 gallons of water to make the fireworks show happen at Pomona College. At that level of resource investment I can't believe we are still talking about having a fireworks show at all.
Sam Hagen - 7 months ago
We been in Claremont since 1997 and have loved the July 4th celebration for many years. However, when the parade went way too political, we lost interest in attending and looked for other way to celebrate July 4th. As a long time resident, I sure hope the city and 4th of July committee can work together to put the emphasis back on the community, kids, family and the celebration of our country rather than making a political statement. We have the privilege of calling this beautiful city home and want nothing more than to see our city thrive.
Rich Laughton - 7 months ago
It is sad to say the 2023 4th of July did not reflect Claremont's long standing tradition of a True 4th of July Celebration. Some 15 yrs ago, Fran and I served on the 4th of July Committee and worked closely with the Involved City Representations that truly aligned with Claremont traditions. To use Budgets and Overtime pay as an excuse for a degraded 4th of Celebration is meaningless. First of all, the budget for this Celebration is minuscule as a part of the total City Budget. Further, there are fortunately many great Non-profit organizations like Rotary, Kiwanis, Woman's Club and others with 100 year history of supporting Claremont--is the City effectively utilizing non-organization/individuals/committees or does City Management believe that paid employees are the only people that can plan/supervise/manage the Event?
Given support and the desire to make the 4th of July a true Celebration as in past years, it is not to late to at least upgrade the 2024 4th of July Plans. How about it "City Representatives" are you willing to recognize the desires of "Claremont"? And, make changes to fit Claremont History?
Claremont Local - 7 months ago
Pick a Saturday and have all the events then. 5K morning, park fun mid-day, parade afternoon, then finish with fireworks. People can come and go attending as available.
Susie Ilsley - 7 months ago
Being born and raised in Claremont I knew that the 4th of July was one day of the year I would really really look forward to! I could count on running into friends I grew up with, at the park. I had moved to Colorado for awhile, but I was always back for the 4th of July festivities. My four kids, my Dad and Mom ,my brothers and sister, along with my nephews and nieces would run or walk in the race to start off the day, then the pancake breakfast afterwards, together, the park booths and parade and we would all end up going to the fireworks. A long, wonderful day of enjoying 4th of July in Claremont. It changed when the parade changed dates! It all just went downhill from there. It took away some of the excitement of the day. Attendance went down. The excitement in the air wasn't the same. I served on the 4th of July committee and that was before all the big changes. If I were on the committee again I would say, let's get back to the original schedule. It worked so well and as the old saying goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"! I hope the City of Claremont can get back to that again!
I conducted somewhat of an informal, anecdotal survey of attendees at the 2022 July 4th celebration concert in Claremont, asking for their thoughts on the celebration and Claremont in general. The conversations were published on the Claremont Speaks podcast. Many attendees were from out of town and said they especially liked the concert in the park. If the concert is kept, I suggest distributing the sound system throughout the park so that the music is at a reasonably constant volume everywhere. This would allow everyone to enjoy the music without it being too loud or too faint. I also suggest moving the concert to a different time of day to avoid sitting facing the sun. The shaded areas are really pleasant, but other areas in the middle and on the east side of the field can be a bit tough at mid-afternoon.
Susan Neely - 7 months ago
If we are going to have the parade early, I recommend changing the route. The 4 o’clock parade emptied the park as the last event of the day. But now, just as the park is opening up, the design is for people leave, either as a parade watcher or someone catching up with their kids, etc. Maybe a loop of some kind?
if the route cannot be altered, could the parade be done earlier than 4 but toward the end of the event? 2?
Murphy - 7 months ago
Use to love Claremont’s parade. But it became so unpatriotic stopped going and now attend La Verne’s where they honor our military- past and present and still celebrate America
Claremont’s parade has become too political and mostly anti military. Groups holding signs “ Peace”… “ War is not the answer “ etc. Sure free speech and we all want peace but duh….. Declaration of Independence/ Revolutionary War connection to our July 4th/ Independence Day???
desi carillo - 7 months ago
this country isn’t anything to celebrate
Kelly Kane - 7 months ago
I'm glad the parade is earlier in the day when it's cooler out. It gets us to the park to participate in the various things. I'm sad the 5k was moved, it was a good motivator to get us "up and at em" in the morning to go cheer people on! We had stopped attending the parade because it was a hundred and oh no degrees outside. Now my kids love scootering through it and we get an afternoon respite before the fireworks.
Donna Lowe - 7 months ago
We stopped going to the parade when the parade participants stopped being about patriotism and were more of a political statement. The last year we went I felt uncomfortable with my kids in attendance so we just stopped going. I remember the days when there was cheerleading, marching bands, senior bike riders, clowns, stilt walkers dressed in red-white-blue, and the adorable children's bike parade when one year we even decorated our wagon and participated. Old fashioned, American home-town-feel wins out every time. Cities like La Verne, Lake Arrowhead, San Dimas still focus on these attributes of a good American celebration, which is maybe why they are well attended.
Kylie Holley - 7 months ago
Go back to the way it was. As a 3rd generation Claremont’s, the 4th of July in Claremont *WAS* magic. The best place to be. From the early morning race to the last firework. I have four kids now and we fortunately were able to enjoy 1-2 Claremont 4th of July’s until it was all rearranged. No reason for it anymore. Go back to the way it was- it will no doubt be more successful than recent years. It’s a day for the community and friends and family to be together and celebrate what it means to be and live in such a place as Claremont, CA and America! PS couldn’t vote above ???????? wasn’t working!
Denise Spooner - 7 months ago
While I understand the staffing issues, I agree with some comments above that, with new leadership, volunteers from the wide variety of groups in town could make the 4th even more fun and vibrant than in the past. Let’s honor teachers, artists, local heroes, city employees, kids and others who have done exceptional work and service. Bring back the crazy drill teams, the senior bike group, the kazoos and any other group that wants to join the parade. And do everything according to the old schedule. It was much much better. As for the fireworks, I understand that they scare dogs, especially, but what’s the 4th without them? Just ditch the “I’m Proud to be an American” song. Any thinking person struggles with that one these days.
Max Freund - 8 months ago
I agree that shifting the 5k to the weekend before was a big mistake! I'm curious if it impacted participation in the race — my wife and I were going to run it as we have for years, but discovered that the date change conflicted with prior weekend plans. Our experience may have been balanced out by the weekend date attracting more folks from outside of our town. However, that also makes it less of a home-grown community event.
Also, as a dog owner and someone who cares about the environment, I would love if the City found an alternative to fireworks. My poor fur babies are already stressed out from weeks of folks setting off fireworks and cherry bombs in our neighborhood, so some years we have even gone out of town to spare them the added anxiety of the City show. (And of course, those years we also miss the parade, 5k, and other local festivities!)
Other cities have gone to drone shows or similar lower-impact spectacles. I don't know what cost implications that would have, but I hope the City looks into such options.
Max Freund - 8 months ago
Your poll is illegible. I've tried reloading it and opening it in different browsers, but it comes out the same. I answered as best I could, but you may want to fix that.
Here's a screenshot: https://capture.dropbox.com/J2S65RFOVV2P7VNJ
Jackson - 8 months ago
Ditch the fireworks. It's never impressive and it terrorizes pets. And move all the afternoon events to the Village where there is parking/transit. Close off some of the streets (something already done on a regular basis) for vendors. This gives people the option of going to the permanent businesses in the Village if they aren't keen on eating food made outside. Finally, set up one or two stages for live music but make sure to give local amateurs a shot. Maybe connect with the Claremont Community School of Music to get soloists/duos/trios/quartets to perform in between more established groups.
Doing the same thing as last year will result in the annual tradition wither and dying.
Amy Croushore - 8 months ago
Why do you say it's too late for this year to move things around?
Changing a date for the race and a time for the parade should be easily accomplished and set up in 3 months.
From what I understand, the day is primarily run by Volunteers. I served on the committee a decade or so ago and there were individuals and families who took complete ownership of certain segments (for example the old ropes course). We need people like that to step up again.
There are at least a dozen areas that need chairmen and volunteers. The parade is only as good as those seeking entries have time to put into it. The more volunteers, the better the content.
There is a chairman for the speaker's corner. If they don't have help drumming up interest, it is sort of a pathetic soap box. They need people to help the Grand Marshall, the food area, the information booths, activities for the kids and teens, and food booths. Basically, if you see it there, a volunteer crew put it together.
Check out the committees and see how you can help. Not all of the work is done on the 4th of July. Much is done in the weeks and months leading up to the celebration.
But most of all make it all happen when the people want to come!!!
The race in the morning and the parade at the end of the day.... or better yet, the parade just after lunch.
Terril Jones - 8 months ago
I remember decades ago there were humorous (and popular) elements to the parade such as a "drill team" of garage guys carrying power drills and doing formations, and people with lawn mowers doing the same. (Gas fumes might not be so welcome though). But humor is better than a string of people in cars you don't know.
More bands, marching or on trucks. Besides El Roble and CHS marching bands, the CHS jazz band, local performers. Bluegrass, Irish music groups? Bring the Ravelers back once a year!
Integrate some iconic Claremont institutions -- Folk Music Center, Walter's, Peterson's Pharmacy, Laemmle Theatre, Wolfe's, Hartman-Baldwin, Sherwood Florists, etc.
Why not have a CHS reunion float/group or two? A class of folks marking their 10th, 25th, 40th reunion years, etc. My CHS class has its 50th in 2026.
Bring in more local sports teams beyond little league and occasionally AYSO.
Local classic car owners.
Local dance clubs/teams.
Get some somewhat-famous Claremont-connected people to take part, even if they don't live in Claremont. Athletes, musicians, Olympians, Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Oscar/Emmy winners?
Integrate the Claremont Colleges somehow? I a generic float once from Pomona College. Maybe invite professors who have just retired? Or groups of emeriti? Invite presidents or admins of the Colleges? Those who won teaching awards? Or hit milestones (30 years at the 5C, etc).
And Claremont teachers, K-12 -- recognize award winners, years of service.
The fourth has always been a strong community tradition in Claremont, a day of celebration, but also a day where you connect with other community members, friends and family. As my family has aged, we have admittedly and unfortunately gone elsewhere for the fourth, but my kids and I have fond childhood memories decorating and riding our bikes and other modes of transportation in the parade.
The loud boom of the cannon to start the day, the 5K, the softball games, concerts and entertainment on stage, the smell of Rosa's tacos and other food stands and the community booths, game booths and fundraising is always a good time to hangout at Memorial Park which is where you mostly run into old HS friends and community members/leaders. All of this leading up to the 4 PM start of the parade and then a little break to go BBQ, have dinner at someone's place, let the kids jump in the pool before heading to the fireworks to find a good spot and settle in for the show. What a perfect schedule, a perfect way to celebrate our country's birthday and spend a quality day with family and friends! My only complaint over the years has been that there isn't enough music and/or marching bands in our quirky small town parade.
But, now, our illustrious city leadership and staff has decided that they're too busy and/or inconvenienced by managing such an event and running overtime. I imagine we run overtime for other reasons throughout the year, don't we?
I spent twenty-five years in the hospitality industry. There were days and special events where the staff was taxed for working long hours over an extended week or weekend to service the customers. It was part of the job. It was expected that you sacrifice for those days and work your tail off to produce a unique and spectacular event. What has changed? Why is our city leadership allowing these excuses to negatively effect the long term, decades long success of such a great city celebration. They think they know better now that they're in charge? Some things in life should remain the same and this is an example of one.
Change the schedule back the way it was. Tell staff to buck up and expect overtime and extra work that day. They can take a PT day in exchange or find a different position at an organization that doesn't require them to work the holiday. BTW, they get just about every other holiday off. In hospitality, many times, we worked Christmas, NY Eve, Thanksgiving Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day and The Fourth of July. We didn't always like it and there was always an internal lottery to see who doesn't have to work those days or you would trade Christmas so you could have Thanksgiving off instead. The point is, like my grandpappy used to say, "work is work, that's why it's called work and that's why you get paid to do it. So give it all you got and with a smile on your face!"
Valerie Matinez - 8 months ago
This last year was really disappointing. Claremont residents typically look forward to the community vibe on July 4th! All organizations have a space to participate. And at the end of the day, everyone is able to break bread and celebrate together. I’m hoping city leadership sees the wisdom of correcting this and moving timelines back to a full day of festivities. Other cities try to duplicate events like this - we need to respect and value what we’ve built.
Deborah Kekone - 8 months ago
The "festival" was incredibly boring this year. There was nothing festive about it. It took 15 minutes to see everything then leave because there was nothing to do at that point except buy concessions. Incorporating scheduled family-friendly activities could make it more interesting. Food eating contest, potato sack or three-legged races, anything would be better than what it was last year.
My wife and I moved to Claremont from Clearwater, Florida in May of last year. I was hoping and expecting a more robust set of events. We grew up in a city about the size of Claremont and wanted to get back to that community feel. I do give the planners some slack for me not knowing where to find information about the event so soon after arriving, but from what I could find, I thought there would be more in Claremont. I was surprised that we were able to find such good setting for the fireworks. Basically a front row seat.
Rainer Mack - 8 months ago
It sounds like the pandemic interrupted this beautiful tradition...and city administration is using the interruption as a chance to cut costs and make things easier to manage for them. It's either myopic or cynical. Either way, it's not the right thing to do. Bring back this iconic celebration! If it worked in 2019 - before the pandemic - it will work now. This is a tradition that stretches back a long ways - I participated as a CHS student in the 1970s. Civic traditions like this are precious. Don't throw them away just to make things cheaper and easier.
Kim Wilson - 8 months ago
The new schedule and morning parade are SO MUCH BETTER than the afternoon parade when you have little ones. Typically, people are melting at 3 or 4 o'clock. Please, please, please keep the new schedule as is.
Maureen Higdon - 8 months ago
I liked the old schedule. Morning in the parks break(where zi go to Wolfe’s for BBQ. Then the parade.,Personally now I prefer the fireworks in La Verne because there are bleachers. I don’t have to wait in line carrying chairs. Also as much as I appreciate the Kiwanis, the food is Claremont is slow on July 4. They do a better job at the concerts in the park.
Per the Courier's own reporting it takes 650,000 gallons of water to make the fireworks show happen at Pomona College. At that level of resource investment I can't believe we are still talking about having a fireworks show at all.
We been in Claremont since 1997 and have loved the July 4th celebration for many years. However, when the parade went way too political, we lost interest in attending and looked for other way to celebrate July 4th. As a long time resident, I sure hope the city and 4th of July committee can work together to put the emphasis back on the community, kids, family and the celebration of our country rather than making a political statement. We have the privilege of calling this beautiful city home and want nothing more than to see our city thrive.
It is sad to say the 2023 4th of July did not reflect Claremont's long standing tradition of a True 4th of July Celebration. Some 15 yrs ago, Fran and I served on the 4th of July Committee and worked closely with the Involved City Representations that truly aligned with Claremont traditions. To use Budgets and Overtime pay as an excuse for a degraded 4th of Celebration is meaningless. First of all, the budget for this Celebration is minuscule as a part of the total City Budget. Further, there are fortunately many great Non-profit organizations like Rotary, Kiwanis, Woman's Club and others with 100 year history of supporting Claremont--is the City effectively utilizing non-organization/individuals/committees or does City Management believe that paid employees are the only people that can plan/supervise/manage the Event?
Given support and the desire to make the 4th of July a true Celebration as in past years, it is not to late to at least upgrade the 2024 4th of July Plans. How about it "City Representatives" are you willing to recognize the desires of "Claremont"? And, make changes to fit Claremont History?
Pick a Saturday and have all the events then. 5K morning, park fun mid-day, parade afternoon, then finish with fireworks. People can come and go attending as available.
Being born and raised in Claremont I knew that the 4th of July was one day of the year I would really really look forward to! I could count on running into friends I grew up with, at the park. I had moved to Colorado for awhile, but I was always back for the 4th of July festivities. My four kids, my Dad and Mom ,my brothers and sister, along with my nephews and nieces would run or walk in the race to start off the day, then the pancake breakfast afterwards, together, the park booths and parade and we would all end up going to the fireworks. A long, wonderful day of enjoying 4th of July in Claremont. It changed when the parade changed dates! It all just went downhill from there. It took away some of the excitement of the day. Attendance went down. The excitement in the air wasn't the same. I served on the 4th of July committee and that was before all the big changes. If I were on the committee again I would say, let's get back to the original schedule. It worked so well and as the old saying goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"! I hope the City of Claremont can get back to that again!
I conducted somewhat of an informal, anecdotal survey of attendees at the 2022 July 4th celebration concert in Claremont, asking for their thoughts on the celebration and Claremont in general. The conversations were published on the Claremont Speaks podcast. Many attendees were from out of town and said they especially liked the concert in the park. If the concert is kept, I suggest distributing the sound system throughout the park so that the music is at a reasonably constant volume everywhere. This would allow everyone to enjoy the music without it being too loud or too faint. I also suggest moving the concert to a different time of day to avoid sitting facing the sun. The shaded areas are really pleasant, but other areas in the middle and on the east side of the field can be a bit tough at mid-afternoon.
If we are going to have the parade early, I recommend changing the route. The 4 o’clock parade emptied the park as the last event of the day. But now, just as the park is opening up, the design is for people leave, either as a parade watcher or someone catching up with their kids, etc. Maybe a loop of some kind?
if the route cannot be altered, could the parade be done earlier than 4 but toward the end of the event? 2?
Use to love Claremont’s parade. But it became so unpatriotic stopped going and now attend La Verne’s where they honor our military- past and present and still celebrate America
Claremont’s parade has become too political and mostly anti military. Groups holding signs “ Peace”… “ War is not the answer “ etc. Sure free speech and we all want peace but duh….. Declaration of Independence/ Revolutionary War connection to our July 4th/ Independence Day???
this country isn’t anything to celebrate
I'm glad the parade is earlier in the day when it's cooler out. It gets us to the park to participate in the various things. I'm sad the 5k was moved, it was a good motivator to get us "up and at em" in the morning to go cheer people on! We had stopped attending the parade because it was a hundred and oh no degrees outside. Now my kids love scootering through it and we get an afternoon respite before the fireworks.
We stopped going to the parade when the parade participants stopped being about patriotism and were more of a political statement. The last year we went I felt uncomfortable with my kids in attendance so we just stopped going. I remember the days when there was cheerleading, marching bands, senior bike riders, clowns, stilt walkers dressed in red-white-blue, and the adorable children's bike parade when one year we even decorated our wagon and participated. Old fashioned, American home-town-feel wins out every time. Cities like La Verne, Lake Arrowhead, San Dimas still focus on these attributes of a good American celebration, which is maybe why they are well attended.
Go back to the way it was. As a 3rd generation Claremont’s, the 4th of July in Claremont *WAS* magic. The best place to be. From the early morning race to the last firework. I have four kids now and we fortunately were able to enjoy 1-2 Claremont 4th of July’s until it was all rearranged. No reason for it anymore. Go back to the way it was- it will no doubt be more successful than recent years. It’s a day for the community and friends and family to be together and celebrate what it means to be and live in such a place as Claremont, CA and America! PS couldn’t vote above ???????? wasn’t working!
While I understand the staffing issues, I agree with some comments above that, with new leadership, volunteers from the wide variety of groups in town could make the 4th even more fun and vibrant than in the past. Let’s honor teachers, artists, local heroes, city employees, kids and others who have done exceptional work and service. Bring back the crazy drill teams, the senior bike group, the kazoos and any other group that wants to join the parade. And do everything according to the old schedule. It was much much better. As for the fireworks, I understand that they scare dogs, especially, but what’s the 4th without them? Just ditch the “I’m Proud to be an American” song. Any thinking person struggles with that one these days.
I agree that shifting the 5k to the weekend before was a big mistake! I'm curious if it impacted participation in the race — my wife and I were going to run it as we have for years, but discovered that the date change conflicted with prior weekend plans. Our experience may have been balanced out by the weekend date attracting more folks from outside of our town. However, that also makes it less of a home-grown community event.
Also, as a dog owner and someone who cares about the environment, I would love if the City found an alternative to fireworks. My poor fur babies are already stressed out from weeks of folks setting off fireworks and cherry bombs in our neighborhood, so some years we have even gone out of town to spare them the added anxiety of the City show. (And of course, those years we also miss the parade, 5k, and other local festivities!)
Other cities have gone to drone shows or similar lower-impact spectacles. I don't know what cost implications that would have, but I hope the City looks into such options.
Your poll is illegible. I've tried reloading it and opening it in different browsers, but it comes out the same. I answered as best I could, but you may want to fix that.
Here's a screenshot: https://capture.dropbox.com/J2S65RFOVV2P7VNJ
Ditch the fireworks. It's never impressive and it terrorizes pets. And move all the afternoon events to the Village where there is parking/transit. Close off some of the streets (something already done on a regular basis) for vendors. This gives people the option of going to the permanent businesses in the Village if they aren't keen on eating food made outside. Finally, set up one or two stages for live music but make sure to give local amateurs a shot. Maybe connect with the Claremont Community School of Music to get soloists/duos/trios/quartets to perform in between more established groups.
Doing the same thing as last year will result in the annual tradition wither and dying.
Why do you say it's too late for this year to move things around?
Changing a date for the race and a time for the parade should be easily accomplished and set up in 3 months.
From what I understand, the day is primarily run by Volunteers. I served on the committee a decade or so ago and there were individuals and families who took complete ownership of certain segments (for example the old ropes course). We need people like that to step up again.
There are at least a dozen areas that need chairmen and volunteers. The parade is only as good as those seeking entries have time to put into it. The more volunteers, the better the content.
There is a chairman for the speaker's corner. If they don't have help drumming up interest, it is sort of a pathetic soap box. They need people to help the Grand Marshall, the food area, the information booths, activities for the kids and teens, and food booths. Basically, if you see it there, a volunteer crew put it together.
Check out the committees and see how you can help. Not all of the work is done on the 4th of July. Much is done in the weeks and months leading up to the celebration.
But most of all make it all happen when the people want to come!!!
The race in the morning and the parade at the end of the day.... or better yet, the parade just after lunch.
I remember decades ago there were humorous (and popular) elements to the parade such as a "drill team" of garage guys carrying power drills and doing formations, and people with lawn mowers doing the same. (Gas fumes might not be so welcome though). But humor is better than a string of people in cars you don't know.
More bands, marching or on trucks. Besides El Roble and CHS marching bands, the CHS jazz band, local performers. Bluegrass, Irish music groups? Bring the Ravelers back once a year!
Integrate some iconic Claremont institutions -- Folk Music Center, Walter's, Peterson's Pharmacy, Laemmle Theatre, Wolfe's, Hartman-Baldwin, Sherwood Florists, etc.
Why not have a CHS reunion float/group or two? A class of folks marking their 10th, 25th, 40th reunion years, etc. My CHS class has its 50th in 2026.
Bring in more local sports teams beyond little league and occasionally AYSO.
Local classic car owners.
Local dance clubs/teams.
Get some somewhat-famous Claremont-connected people to take part, even if they don't live in Claremont. Athletes, musicians, Olympians, Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Oscar/Emmy winners?
Integrate the Claremont Colleges somehow? I a generic float once from Pomona College. Maybe invite professors who have just retired? Or groups of emeriti? Invite presidents or admins of the Colleges? Those who won teaching awards? Or hit milestones (30 years at the 5C, etc).
And Claremont teachers, K-12 -- recognize award winners, years of service.
Just some thoughts.
The fourth has always been a strong community tradition in Claremont, a day of celebration, but also a day where you connect with other community members, friends and family. As my family has aged, we have admittedly and unfortunately gone elsewhere for the fourth, but my kids and I have fond childhood memories decorating and riding our bikes and other modes of transportation in the parade.
The loud boom of the cannon to start the day, the 5K, the softball games, concerts and entertainment on stage, the smell of Rosa's tacos and other food stands and the community booths, game booths and fundraising is always a good time to hangout at Memorial Park which is where you mostly run into old HS friends and community members/leaders. All of this leading up to the 4 PM start of the parade and then a little break to go BBQ, have dinner at someone's place, let the kids jump in the pool before heading to the fireworks to find a good spot and settle in for the show. What a perfect schedule, a perfect way to celebrate our country's birthday and spend a quality day with family and friends! My only complaint over the years has been that there isn't enough music and/or marching bands in our quirky small town parade.
But, now, our illustrious city leadership and staff has decided that they're too busy and/or inconvenienced by managing such an event and running overtime. I imagine we run overtime for other reasons throughout the year, don't we?
I spent twenty-five years in the hospitality industry. There were days and special events where the staff was taxed for working long hours over an extended week or weekend to service the customers. It was part of the job. It was expected that you sacrifice for those days and work your tail off to produce a unique and spectacular event. What has changed? Why is our city leadership allowing these excuses to negatively effect the long term, decades long success of such a great city celebration. They think they know better now that they're in charge? Some things in life should remain the same and this is an example of one.
Change the schedule back the way it was. Tell staff to buck up and expect overtime and extra work that day. They can take a PT day in exchange or find a different position at an organization that doesn't require them to work the holiday. BTW, they get just about every other holiday off. In hospitality, many times, we worked Christmas, NY Eve, Thanksgiving Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day and The Fourth of July. We didn't always like it and there was always an internal lottery to see who doesn't have to work those days or you would trade Christmas so you could have Thanksgiving off instead. The point is, like my grandpappy used to say, "work is work, that's why it's called work and that's why you get paid to do it. So give it all you got and with a smile on your face!"
This last year was really disappointing. Claremont residents typically look forward to the community vibe on July 4th! All organizations have a space to participate. And at the end of the day, everyone is able to break bread and celebrate together. I’m hoping city leadership sees the wisdom of correcting this and moving timelines back to a full day of festivities. Other cities try to duplicate events like this - we need to respect and value what we’ve built.
The "festival" was incredibly boring this year. There was nothing festive about it. It took 15 minutes to see everything then leave because there was nothing to do at that point except buy concessions. Incorporating scheduled family-friendly activities could make it more interesting. Food eating contest, potato sack or three-legged races, anything would be better than what it was last year.
My wife and I moved to Claremont from Clearwater, Florida in May of last year. I was hoping and expecting a more robust set of events. We grew up in a city about the size of Claremont and wanted to get back to that community feel. I do give the planners some slack for me not knowing where to find information about the event so soon after arriving, but from what I could find, I thought there would be more in Claremont. I was surprised that we were able to find such good setting for the fireworks. Basically a front row seat.
It sounds like the pandemic interrupted this beautiful tradition...and city administration is using the interruption as a chance to cut costs and make things easier to manage for them. It's either myopic or cynical. Either way, it's not the right thing to do. Bring back this iconic celebration! If it worked in 2019 - before the pandemic - it will work now. This is a tradition that stretches back a long ways - I participated as a CHS student in the 1970s. Civic traditions like this are precious. Don't throw them away just to make things cheaper and easier.
The new schedule and morning parade are SO MUCH BETTER than the afternoon parade when you have little ones. Typically, people are melting at 3 or 4 o'clock. Please, please, please keep the new schedule as is.
I liked the old schedule. Morning in the parks break(where zi go to Wolfe’s for BBQ. Then the parade.,Personally now I prefer the fireworks in La Verne because there are bleachers. I don’t have to wait in line carrying chairs. Also as much as I appreciate the Kiwanis, the food is Claremont is slow on July 4. They do a better job at the concerts in the park.