Leesburg basks in patriotism of Independence Day parade

Fire engines, Cub Scouts, and politicians parade on July 4

By turns funny, silly, serious and sentimental, Leesburg's Independence Day parade lined up floats, marchers, bicycles, convertibles, and public safety equipment from the past.

They filled King Street for almost an hour on Monday morning, marching south to Fairfax Street and greeted by smiles and waves from mostly happy children and their mostly nostalgic parents.

The adults say they brought their children to the parade -- many for the first time -- because of their own precious memories of hometown parades when they were kids living in small towns in Vermont or Colorado or Pennsylvania.

Julie Serenyi of Ashburn and her husband Rob brought their children, Maggie and Sean, to their first July 4 Independence Day celebration in a red wagon. After the parade, Sean was asked if he liked the fire engines: "NO!" he said. But his mom speculated that the heat and crowds were affecting his answer, and his memories of the day would be YES! 

Serenyi herself likes fire trucks because "They're nice and shiny and it's our hometown heroes hard at work, she said. She likes July 4 celebrations because, like others, she went to small town parades as a child. Why Leesburg's? Because "We needed a parade on the Fourth of July," Serenyi said. 

Mike Murphy of Sterling has lived in Northern Virginia 14 years, but this was his first year to bring his family to the Leesburg parade. He, too, remembers parades from his childhood in northeast Pennsylvania. "I'm just so used to this," he said. He and his wife, Lori, wanted their children, Kylie and Liam, to enjoy the kind of small town parade he remembers as a child.

Rhonda Wilson of Leesburg, brought her son Jordan, 3, to Leesburg's July 4 parade for the first time this year. "I grew up all over; my dad travelled a lot," she said. I just remember the small-town events. You don't get this in the city," she said. As she spoke, Jordan was collecting pieces of candy in an area of the sidewalk that he protected from other children.

In the meantime Lorelei Brasser, considerably younger than Jordan, was giving her candy away almost as fast as she picked it up. Her father, Russ Brasser, was to sing in a barbershop quartet at Dodona Manor after the parade. 

Parade participants responded to the love from the crowd by smiling, waving, and passing out candy and toy sheriff's badges. The Loudoun County Republican Women's Club gave out copies of the document that started it all off: the Declaration of Independence.

A performance by the American Originals fife and drum corps filled the time that it took for the lengthy parade to travel from Ida Lee Park, south on King Street to Fairfax Street. Their performance set the mood and entertained people crowding the sidewalks on both sides of Market and King as one of the drummers taught them how to do a drum rudiment called a "paradiddle" by using their hands as drumsticks and the nearest available surface as a snare drum. 

As soon as the two police motorcycles leading the parade were spotted at the north end of King Street, the fifes quieted and the drummers went to parade rest.

For the next 45 minutes, the happy celebrants at America's birthday party sat or stood on the sidewalk to watch as one after another, units in the parade presented strong visual reasons to take pride in their country.