general information
Event Dates
Jul 03, 2009
Contact Information
Downtown Parkway
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
Phone: (800) 568-4748
Email Contact
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FDR Presidential Motorcade Reenactment
For the 34th consecutive year, Gatlinburg kicks off America’s Independence Day celebration with the nation’s first parade, which leads off at 12 a.m. on Saturday, July 4, to the cheers of close to 100,000 spectators and features a special tribute to our four branches of military service among the many highlights of this one-of-a-kind patriotic event presented by Land O’ Lakes Half & Half..
In recognition of the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, as well as the birthday of our Country on July 4, the City of Gatlinburg will recreate the September 2, 1940, Presidential Motorcade of Franklin D. Roosevelt as it traveled through Gatlinburg on its way to Newfound Gap. There, perched high above a throng of onlookers, FDR officially dedicated the Park while standing with one foot in North Carolina and one foot in Tennessee. Golden Globe nominee and Knoxville native, David Keith will be Grand Marshal and will portray Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The mobile reenactment will lead the 34th Annual 4th of July Midnight Parade, Presented by Land O’ Lakes Half & Half, at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, July 4th, 2009. The Presidential Motorcade will be reproduced in vintage style with period automobiles and costuming along with vintage motorcycles to escort the motorcade. Stretching more than a mile in length, over 100 units will make their way through Gatlinburg, showcasing many elaborately decorated floats, helium balloons, marching bands, equestrian entries and a large contingent of our armed services men & women.
As soon as the street is closed late on July 3, the parade route comes alive with pre-parade entertainers that begin the excitement of what is to follow. Marching bands, colorful floats and helium balloons will navigate the streets, with over 100 entries of all types scheduled to appear.
Honorary Grand Marshals include Bill Landry of the Heartland Series, popular country music singer and songwriter TG Shephard, Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary Wade, Walters State Community College President Emeritus Jack Campbell, Friends of the Smokies President Jim Hart, and Richard Way of the Smoky Mountain Heritage Center from Townsend.
Also being honored in the parade will be some surviving members of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC was a project of the Roosevelt administration to put young men to work on federal jobs during the Great Depression. The CCC built the roads, trails, overpasses and bridges in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that we still use today. When these men worked for the CCC, they were in their teens, now they are in their 80’s.
“This will be one of the most patriotic and colorful midnight parades that the City of Gatlinburg has ever produced,” according to Special Events Manager George Hawkins, who organized the first Gatlinburg 4th of July parade in 1976 in celebration of America’s Bicentennial.
The parade, presented by Land O’ Lakes Half & Half, is sponsored by Coca-Cola, Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, A Step Above & Premier Limousines, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Gatlinburg’s popular River Raft Regatta takes place at noon on Saturday, July 4th, beginning at the Christus Gardens bridge on River Road and ending at the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies bridge in downtown Gatlinburg. This unmanned river raft race is open to anything floatable except balls and plastic eggs. In the past, families have entered boats made out of matchsticks, floating rocks, as well as little rubber ducks. Registration begins at 10 a.m., with the race beginning promptly at noon. Support for the River Raft Regatta is provided by the Gatlinburg Recreation Department.
Beginning at 8 p.m. on the 4th of July, the 17-piece string ensemble known as the Fiddlers ReStrung will begin a free concert on the Plaza at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies. Hailing from Saline, Michigan, the group plays a diverse arrangement of styles including American, Bluegrass, Celtic fiddle, popular folk, Appalachian step-dancing, and progressive acoustic. Their concert will precede the Grand Finale Fireworks.
Then, just an hour after sundown, the Fourth’s Grand Finale occurs on the streets of downtown Gatlinburg with a fireworks extravaganza visible all along the Parkway from Light #3 to the Sky Lift starting about 10 p.m. Lasting almost 20 minutes in duration, the sights and sounds of “the rocket’s red glare” will fill the sky as a fitting tribute to this day of celebrating freedom.
For more information about the 34th Annual 4th of July Midnight Parade or the River Raft Regatta, please call 800-56-VISIT (568-4748) or visit www.gatlinburg.com.
upcoming events
Nov 21, 2009 - Nov 22, 2009
Centennial Holiday Show
Franklin, TN
Nov 20, 2009 - Nov 22, 2009
32nd Annual Santa's Workshop
Cookeville, TN
Nov 20, 2009 - Nov 22, 2009
7th Annual Stoddart Open House
Crawford, TN
Nov 10, 2009 - Nov 22, 2009
6th Annual Trees of Christmas
Lawrenceburg, TN
Nov 22, 2009
Mannheim Steamroller
Chattanooga, TN