How do you celebrate a birthday for an entire community?
Party? Parade? Baseball?
All of the above.
My home town, the inspiration for Crystal Springs, had a grand birthday party a few years ago. They’ve done this before – for a centennial. In a series of decisions after that success event an annual summer festival with baseball, beer, and music blossomed. (This is Wisconsin – any party involves beer.) Every twenty-five years they expand the weekend to include a parade. And in honor of 150 years since the first permanent structures/founding of the village they added an All School Reunion.
The weather cooperated with sunshine. A lower concentration of dairy farmers enabled an early evening parade. (The marchers/walkers/horses thank the committee for this idea.) Spectators lined all of Main Street, cheered as the lead unit approached, and then stood to honor the flag.
