Loomis to host 4th of July Parade

A new tradition is set to begin in Loomis this Friday with a Fourth of July Parade downtown, providing the community with a festive Independence Day celebration. The parade is put on by American Legion Post 775 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 904 and begins at 8:30 a.m. at the intersection of Walnut Street at Taylor Road. The parade will travel down Taylor, ending at Loomis Grammar School at the intersection of King Road. American Legion Executive Board Member Randy Green said he often questioned why Loomis never had a town parade for the Fourth of July, especially with neighboring cities such as Lincoln and Auburn hosting festive celebrations. He said he asked around, but nobody could recall why there was nothing in place. "We started looking into it and we found out that there were some other parades, but they're all neighborhood parades," said Green. "We talked to the town council and they thought that'd be great. We talked to the Chamber of Commerce and they were on board as well." Green said the reception so far has been good and he believes the parade can be the foundation for a new holiday tradition that grows throughout the years. He said many of the floats and participants will be similar to those that are in the annual Loomis Day Before Thanksgiving Parade and added there will be new participants as well. "There will be a lot of different things for people," says Green. "We have some hot rod cars. We have a couple floats with veterans from the Korean War, the Vietnam War and also from the Iraqi war. The Placer County Sheriff's Office will be there, too. We have 42 entries in total." Green believes the parade will only continue to grow moving forward and he's excited to bring something like this to Loomis. "We really want to see this become a tradition. We have a number of neighborhood groups that are actually going to be in a parade, ranging from people walking dogs to kids being pulled in wagons," said Green. "We want people to see Loomis as a small town with a big parade." Taylor Road will be closed between Walnut Street and King Road from 7:45 a.m. until the conclusion of the parade.