Arlington July Fourth parade turns 50: What you might not know

Years before there were Texas Rangers baseball games or a place called AT&T Stadium, Arlington residents gathered at Randol Mill Park to start what enthusiasts say is one of the city’s most enduring traditions: the Arlington 4th of July Parade.

The red-white-and-blue community favorite will celebrate its 50th year Saturday. What started as a patriotic promenade around a pond now consists of a 2-mile route that winds through downtown and the University of Texas at Arlington’s College Park District. It includes about 150 entries, from the traditional marching bands, patriotic floats and classic cars to more recent additions like belly dancers, hula-hoopers and, of course, the Wheelie-ing Elvi.

More than 60,000 parade-watchers are expected. Some will even camp out the night before to make sure they get their favorite viewing spots.

“In spite of it being the largest parade in Texas and one of the largest in the nation, it still has that really cool small-town feeling,” said Kevin Donovan, a board member for the nonprofit Arlington 4th of July Association, which organizes the parade. “We’ve got people who said, ‘I was in the parade. My kids were in the parade. And now my grandkids are in the parade.’”

Donna Darovich, the organization’s spokeswoman and a longtime announcer at the parade, says the event started in 1965 as a project of a group called Church Women United and was headed up by Dottie Lynn. Lynn would later become a legendary councilwoman in Arlington.

“It was primarily kind of a youth parade. I don’t think they had horses. I know they didn’t have big floats or anything,” Darovich said. “It’s evolved over the years as it’s become more and more popular each year.”

By the 1990s, the number of entries was approaching 200. Organizers, seeing that a long parade on a hot day could cause fatigue, decided to limit entries to a more manageable 150.

This year, because of the 50th anniversary, that number will reach 160. The total includes one entry that has been there every year since 1965 — the Knights of Columbus.

As with any large-scale celebration, lots of behind-the-scenes work goes on before the event steps off at 9 a.m. The city closes streets and provides police to direct traffic, but people often don’t realize that an all-volunteer committee puts on the event, Darovich said.

The board works all year to make sure it’s successful. Many members have been coming back for decades.

To honor that tradition, the 2015 grand marshals will be long-serving past and present board members.

A few other aspects unique to this year’s parade:

▪ It will be the first for new Mayor Jeff Williams. As others have done before him, Williams will visit the parking lot staging area at UT Arlington before the parade to pick the winner of the Mayor’s Award. That entry will be placed behind the mayor’s car in the parade lineup.

▪ Parade organizers encourage spectators to bring a canned good or other nonperishable food item for Arlington Charities.

▪ The post-parade gathering and awards ceremony at Knapp Heritage Park, 201 W. Front St., will feature a Ruby Odom Patriotic Hat Contest, named after the city’s former first lady. The Arlington Historical Society will serve lemonade, barbecue and watermelon.

Roxanne Thalman, the 4th of July Association president, said the 20 or so board members are taking on even more responsibilities as they make sure the parade evolves and maintains financial support. Besides publicity, sponsors receive acknowledgment on the parade’s Facebook page this year.

Thalman, one of the board’s newest members, grew up in south Arlington and graduated from Mansfield High School in 2001. She joined the board in 2010.

The hours are long, but the volunteers give the event a strong foundation, she said.

“It’s probably the most cohesive group I’ve ever been a part of. Everyone is very supportive. There’s a lot of exchange of ideas in an encouraging way,” she said. “We always go home feeling good instead of exhausted.”

And, of course, there’s the big payoff: watching Arlington come together to celebrate community, freedom and Independence Day.

“On parade day, everybody’s got a smile on their face,” Donovan said.

This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 10:55 AM with the headline "Arlington July Fourth parade turns 50: What you might not know."