Join in or Just Enjoy

    Organizers are hoping residents will either join in or just come out and enjoy Guilford’s Citizens’ Day Parade, Saturday, Sept. 20 at 10 a.m. Last year, 79 units participated in the parade, which skirts the town green and ends on Union Street.

    The parade is an annual town tradition with longstanding ties to the historic Guilford Fair (Friday, Sept. 19 to Sunday, Sept. 21). Back in the day, the town actually gave kids Friday off from school to attend the all-important fair, a celebration and culmination of a season of hard work by Guilford’s then-numerous agricultural families.

    “People used to follow the parade right to the fair ground on opening day,” said Frank Ifkovic, co-chair of the annual event. “It’s still a perfect prelude to the fair. You can come to the parade, watch the parade, and then walk to the fairgrounds,” he said.

    Organizing and underwriting the parade was once the responsibility of the non-profit Guilford Agricultural Society, which still operates the Guilford Fair. Nearly 30 years ago, the fair parade was reborn as the Citizens’ Day Parade, reflecting the fact that resident volunteers had jumped in to take over the cost and responsibility of putting on the show. The parade has been sponsored by the Guilford Savings Bank ever since.

    “Everybody thinks the parade is free. It’s not. We have to pay for bands to come, and we pay all the drum corps…it amounts to around $7,000. The Guilford Savings Bank foots the bill for whole thing,” said Ifkovic.

    Ifkovic, together with Calvin “Woody” Page and Stephen Page, have co-chaired the event for more than 20 years. Another Page family member, Logan Page, recently joined the effort, as well.

    A grateful Guilford Agricultural Society is a still a big part of the parade, with members driving antique tractors and building at least one fair float, usually teeming with live farm animals. But what really makes the Citizens’ Day Parade special is the participation of so many different Guilford groups and organizations, said Ifkovic.

    “It’s a forum for anything in town. If you own a business and wish to put a vehicle or float in, you may. Non-profits often put in floats; the Boy Scouts and Girls Scout march, we have six or seven fife and drum corps, Guilford town bands, and we invite bands from other towns. We have neighborhood associations involved, and all of the schools put in a float,” he said.

    The parade lasts about an hour and steps off at 10 a.m. sharp from the corner of Boston Street and Whitfield Street. Marchers make a circuit along the town green, traveling up Whitfield Street to Broad Street, turning off Broad and onto Park Street, bearing left onto Boston Street and ending at Union Street.

    This year’s parade theme for floats and music is “The Wild West.” Judges will award rosette ribbons and cash prizes to the winning school floats. 

    As a kid growing up in Guilford, Ifkovic remembers participating in the parade.

    “I used to decorate my bike with crepe paper and baseball cards to make it click. A lot of kids used to ride their bikes in it,” he said.

    If you live in Guilford and you haven’t participated or come out to watch the Citizen’s Day Parade, this is the year to get involved, said Ifkovic.

    “It’s really a great parade. There are lots of people who live in Guilford who’ve never seen it. It’s a perfect setting, the Green is a lovely place to sit and there’s lots of room around the Green for people line up and watch it. The intent is to bring maybe 2,000 people to the fair. It’s still hoped whoever’s watching the parade will then go to fair.”

The 2008 Citizens Day Parade is Saturday, Sept. 20, rain or shine, 10 a.m., around the Town Green. Advance registration (at least one week prior to parade date) is needed for all floats, vehicles, and other participants. Registration forms are available at Page Hardware and Appliance Co., 9 Boston Street, or Frank’s Package Store, 15 Boston Street. Participants should arrive at the rear Page’s lot by 9 a.m. on parade day. Floats should be in place by 8 a.m. Parents with children in the parade are encouraged to park at Calvin Leete School, Union Street. All floats will unload at the school the end of the parade.

Pictured: Last year, 79 units participated in the Citizens’ Day Parade and helped celebrate the Guilford Fair, including this tractor-pulled farm animal float entered by the Guilford Agricultural Society. There’s still time for groups and organizations to join in with their own float or marching unit. The parade will be held rain or shine Saturday, Sept. 20 and kicks off at 10 a.m. sharp.

Photo courtesy of Guilford Agricultural Society