TOWER- It’s back! Tower’s Fourth of July parade is set for Saturday, July 3, take-off time as usual at 11 a.m. The parade and related festivities were canceled last year due to the pandemic.
About a dozen floats have already signed up for the parade, but the board still needs to hear from all businesses, families, organizations, and individuals who plan on having an entry in the parade. Everyone who wants to participate should contact Julie Johnson at tseventsboard@gmail.com, or by phone/text at 218-750-7242.
The Tower-Soudan Lake Vermilion Events Board, which oversees planning for the event, is still working on finalizing the rest of the weekend’s activities. Fireworks will take place at dusk on July 3, from the hill north of Tower.
The committee is now fundraising on a tighter deadline than normal, raising money for parade and children’s game expenses, as well as for the fireworks. Donation cans are being set up at area businesses, and $1 raffle tickets will be on sale soon. Donations can also be mailed to: Tower-Soudan Fourth of July, PO Box 461, Tower, MN 55790.
The Vermilion 5K/10K run will also take place on Saturday, July 3. This year the race will have a professional timing system, thanks to the Range Runners group. Online race pre-registrations will be encouraged; watch for information in the next couple of weeks. Anyone with questions can email jsummit@vermilioncountry.org.
Volunteers are needed to help run the children’s races, which take place in the afternoon at the Tower School field. The Dostert family has been in charge of the races for many, many years, and they are willing to mentor a new group of volunteers to keep this traditional, and popular, activity going into the future. Anyone wanting to learn more about the races should call Greg Dostert at 218-248-0648.
Breitung Township will make a decision on hosting their traditional free community picnic at their next board meeting on May 27, which possibly would be held on Sunday, July 4.
The Fourth of July Committee has asked if the Tower-Soudan Community Band can play for the parade this year, because they are expecting that high school bands will not be playing. The group is recruiting some additional musicians for the group. The plan is to play a few tunes in front of Tower City Hall (including The Star Spangled Banner) and then to ride and play on a flat-bed truck in the front of parade so band members can rejoin their families to watch the rest of the parade.
Please dig out your instrument and recruit others. If you have any questions, please text or call 218-393-2036, or email enorberg14@gmail.com. Please join the band for a fun time.