A beloved Fourth of July parade for America’s 250th anniversary has been canceled after more than three decades after crippling red tape.
The event in the Westchester neighborhood of Bakersfield was shelved last week due to the town and cops enforcing city permits and safety rules.
Organizers said the regulations, which included waste management, road closures and an expensive special application fee, made it too costly to continue.
It comes as Fourth of July appears to be under attack in California,with Long Beach’s popular display banning fireworksand SeaWorld being forced to switch the drones in San Diego.
Westchester parade chief Robin Paggi told Bakersfield’s News 17: “When we’re looking at all the requirements — there’s quite a bit — and there’s also costs that go along with it.
“So when we examined all of the requirements and the cost and put it out to our neighborhood, and said this is what it would take to continue our parade as-is, there wasn’t much of a response and so it just made sense that it’s time for the parade as we know it to be done.”
She continued: “I was contacted by the police department. They let me know when we have an event this size that there needs to be a permit and there needs to be safety precautions put in place, understandably so. People are in the street.”
The festival has been in place for 37 years and usually features fireworks, marching bands, fire trucks and decorated bikes and wagons across six blocks.
Organizers said the free, all-volunteer parade would need $5,000 or more to meet new requirements, including detailed plans for traffic, safety, trash, and emergency services.
Long Beach canceled its “Big Bang on the Bay” for the first time in 15 years after the California Coastal Commission denied approval for pyrotechnics.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
