Fourth of July Parade - Morgan Hill, CA

To help celebrate the birth of our great country, Alyson Roth participated in the 115th Morgan Hill Fourth of July Parade. The theme this year was "A Salute to America's Heroes," and the entire event is coordinated each year since around 1973 by Bob and Maureen Hunt. The work they do and the volunteers that help out is simply a production in and of itself! It's spectacular!

Below is Ms. Roth on the flight to San Jose preparing for the parade which will happen early the next morning.
Over 50,000 people come from all over Santa Clara County to watch this parade. The streets are packed with families as they prepare to yell, cheer, and wave at the people in the parade.

Santa Clara County has a wonderful transportation system called "ParaTransit" (Outreach) which helped pick up Ms. Wheelchair California and bring her to where she needed to be. The festivities began early (about 8am), but the parade itself did not begin until 10am. Yes, Ms. Wheelchair California is a V.I.P!

Below is "The Grange" which served as the meeting place for all the volunteers, staff, and V.I.P.'s. It is one of the few historical buildings still left in this close knit community and once served as an elementary school.

We were greeted with these signs as we entered into the parade reminding everyone on a float or in a car to smile, look sharp, and don't lag!

Ms. Wheelchair California, Alyson Roth's, car was a black Thunderbird convertible. It was a great car to ride in for the parade!

Alyson was able to meet up with Eliza Riley, MWCC Ambassador, while in Morgan Hill since she lives nearby. She was also able to be in the parade behind Alyson. It was good to see her again!

So many people anxiously await this day, and as you can see by the pictures below, they pack into ever nook and cranny along the parade path that they can to get a good view!

Here she comes! Ms. Wheelchair California, Alyson Roth!

The view from Alyson's spot. She followed a Boy Scouts float with a dancing Santa Claus on it. It was hard competition! Behind Alyson was Eliza Riley's car, and then the one and only Elvis was behind her!

There was an "Announcer's Stage" at four different locations on the parade route. Each time a new float/car passed by, the announcer would inform the audience about who they represented. It was encouraging to see so many people cheer, clap, and yell your name as you passed them by!


Turning the last corner of the parade... an hour and fifteen minutes later! The parade route was only a little over a mile long, but it took that long to get around the block!

Participating in the Morgan Hill 4th of July Parade was such a memorable experience. It's easy to see why people come from all over to the county to make this a tradition with their family. Everyone in this community is supportive, helpful, and friendly, and if you haven't been to see this parade yet, you need to! The Ms. Wheelchair California organization looks forward to being back with everyone again next year!