After the 2023 event got canceled because of financial reasons, Melbourne’s patriotic Fourth of July parade returned Thursday with a colorful procession of more than 30 floats and organizations bolstered by dozens of decorated Jeeps, Corvettes and other vehicles.
Credit Rose Yeary, the parade’s key organizer. And she keeps the Independence Day spirit alive across the calendar: She commands the newly created All American Veterans of Brevard County American Legion Post 420, which seeks a home in the Suntree area.
“I’ve put my heart and soul into all these parades for the last seven years,” Yeary said Thursday morning, addressing a crowd gathered outside the Liberty Bell Memorial Museum.
“We hope to be back doing this for our community for Veterans Day in November,” she said, drawing applause.
Fireworks: Fourth of July 2024: Here’s where to celebrate across Brevard
Post 420 received its permanent charter in March, has about 50 members, and temporarily meets at the Boy Scouts building on Post Road in Melbourne, Yeary said. For more information on the group’s funding efforts to find a home in or near Suntree, contact Yeary at 321-266-5115 or rose.yeary@att.net.
“In the Suntree area and the Viera area, there’s an unmet need. Because there are no American Legion posts there for the veterans to be able to come socialize, for us to be involved more in our community,” Yeary said.
Prior to Melbourne’s holiday parade, 1,378 hardy runners and walkers braved hot, muggy conditions while traversing the sun-splashed Eau Gallie Causeway during the Firecracker 5K. The National Weather Service declared a heat advisory from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. across the Space Coast and East-Central Florida, warning of scorching heat index values soaring up to 110 degrees.
Merritt Island’s Fourth of July parade kicked off at Merritt Island High and wound down North Courtenay Parkway and East Merritt Avenue — featuring large contingents of Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and Brevard County Fire Rescue personnel — before wrapping up at Edgewood Jr./Sr. High. In Palm Bay, a four-hour-plus Independence Day celebration was scheduled at the city’s Eastern Florida State College campus, featuring food trucks, vendors, live music, a kids’ zone and fireworks.
Evening fireworks displays were also planned in Cocoa Village, Port Canaveral, Port St. John, Titusville, Viera and Melbourne. At that latter city, Green Gables at Historic Riverview Village Inc. officials planned a fundraising fireworks viewing party at the landmark Queen Anne-style estate with hot dogs, chips and soft drinks.
“Happy birthday, America!” longtime Green Gables nonprofit official John Daly told the Liberty Bell Memorial Museum crowd, eliciting cheers.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard marks July 4 with parades, a beach run and fireworks displays
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