For more than 30 years, Liberty’s Fourth of July parade has brought the community together on Main Street to celebrate Independence Day.
This year’s celebration carries extra meaning as the country marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and Liberty honors John Hopkins, the man credited with first suggesting in 1994 that the village hold a Fourth of July parade of its own.
Hopkins, a Liberty native, Vietnam War-era Army veteran, former Liberty police officer and longtime federal law enforcement official, now lives in Alabama but has remained closely connected to his hometown.
Rob Datteros of Sullivan Performing Arts said the recognition is fitting as Liberty marks the 30th year of the parade.
“We are Liberty, New York,” Datteros said, noting that many place names in Sullivan County reflect the spirit of the American Revolution, including Monticello and Jeffersonville.
Datteros said the idea for the parade grew out of a successful Memorial Day parade Hopkins had helped organize in 1994. At the time, Hopkins suggested to then-Mayor Ron Goza that Liberty should hold its own Fourth of July parade.
“He said, ‘Why don’t we do a Fourth of July parade? We’re Liberty, New York,’” Datteros recalled.
Hopkins said the first parade came together quickly and modestly.
“It was kind of like the seat of our pants,” Hopkins said. “The first parade was real short.”
But the event grew year after year. Hopkins said by the time he retired from the Liberty Police Department in 2000, the parade had become “quite a show.”
This year, the celebration will include the parade, a festival, music, vendors and fireworks. Datteros said Town of Liberty Supervisor Frank DeMayo and Nick Russon are helping organize the event, along with the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce.
The festival is expected to run from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with music on the Main Street stage and more than 100 vendors offering food, crafts and other items. The full celebration begins at 10 a.m. and continues until 9:30 p.m., ending with fireworks.
Datteros said the parade’s legacy is not just the event itself, but the community spirit it helped inspire. He said the Fourth of July parade helped spark other festivals, the Liberty farmers market, the Liberty Museum and Art Center, Shakespeare in the Park and improvements along Main Street.
“This was really the genesis of it,” Datteros said.
For Hopkins, returning to Liberty as Grand Marshal is deeply meaningful. He said he has continued to visit over the years and recently returned to celebrate his granddaughter’s graduation from Liberty High School.
“It’s old home to me,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins said the Fourth of July remains a reminder of the sacrifices made to secure freedom and the responsibility to preserve it for future generations.
“The Fourth of July especially reminds us of the sacrifices made to secure our freedoms,” Hopkins said.
The celebration begins July 4 at 10 a.m. and continues through 9:30 p.m. with fireworks. The rain date for the parade is July 5. More information is available through the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce.