Feature
June
23
Celebration honors veterans with parade, fireworks display
by Weekly Staff
A parade and fireworks display will help locals celebrate the nation’s veterans and independence again this year.
On July 2, the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, Houma Convention and Visitors Bureau, Regional Military Museum, SEECA Ophthalmology, HTV and other donors will sponsor the Patriotic Parade and Fireworks Display. Now in its third year, the celebration has become a Fourth of July tradition in the area. The theme for this year’s celebration is “American Pride.”
“It is our honor, as well as our duty, to recognize the men and women in our community who have served and continue to serve selflessly to keep us safe,” said Robin LeJeune, vice chairperson of this year’s event. “We especially want to honor those who fought in Vietnam who deserve the recognition that most were deprived of after serving during a most difficult time in our nation’s history. It is the least we can do.”
The celebration will start at 11 a.m. at the Veterans’ Memorial Park on Highway 311 with a ceremony honoring the service of our military, police and fire department veterans. At 12:30 p.m., participants will leave from the memorial and make their way to the Concord Plaza. At the plaza, veterans will board floats to participate in the annual parade from the plaza (in front of True Value), down Valhi Boulevard to the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center. The Memorial and Patriots’ Parade will focus on the successful completion of Louisiana National Guard Charlie and Delta Companies’ mission in Iraq, as well as the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam conflict.
After the parade travels to the civic center, the celebration continues. Beginning around 1 p.m., there will be more food booths than ever before, a raffle and children’s entertainment throughout the day.
For more details
on how to get involved or for information
pertaining to the event schedule, check out
the event’s website at www.houma4thofjuly.com.
Contact Lee Shaffer at 985-804-2265 or
lshaffers@aol.com if you would like more information
on how to become part of the celebration.
At 5 p.m., there will also be a 5K run for adults and a “fun run” for the kids, both starting at the civic center.
A new event this year, the Cajun Crit “Red, White and Bike” Race will start at 8 a.m. A criterium, or crit, race is a high-speed bike race held on a short course. In this case, the race will take place in the parking lot of the civic center.
Waylon Thibodeaux, the Houma Community Band, Papillion and the U.S. Navy Band will provide musical entertainment.
There will also be a skydiving team providing an exciting performance and a flyover by the U.S. Air Force.
“There is something very special about the sound of a fighter jet,” said Dr. A. J. dela Houssaye, a founder of the event. “My father was a fighter pilot, and that sound is unmistakable and brings with it such a flood of memories. I remember my mother would drop everything at the sound of the fighter jets and run outside to watch the squadron fly over the house. It would bring tears to her eyes—and still does.”
An extravagant fireworks display will cap off the night at 9 p.m. The best place to view the fireworks will be from the civic center.
“The general idea of being an American—you don’t see that anyplace else,” said C.J. Christ, founder of the Regional Military Museum. “We’re a proud nation, and I couldn’t continue the idea of not having a celebration to honor our nation and veterans.”
