By late morning on July 4, dozens of multicolored lawn chairs were perched on the sidewalk of Old Lancaster Pike while their owners waited, lounging in the shade or flipping burgers on the grill.
At 3 p.m., the start of Hockessin’s 19th annual Fourth of July parade, the sidewalk was wall-to-wall people. Hundreds of spectators – clad in red, white and blue – watched as fire trucks, antique cars and colorful floats rolled past, their riders flinging candy into the crowd.
This year’s parade featured many unique floats, including a five-foot NASA-replica rocket, a mock-vegetable stand and a living Statue of Liberty.
The parade brings Hockessin together and the sense of community it creates is one of the things that makes the town so unique, said Dr. Gordon DiRenzo, a 34-year resident of Hockessin.
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2009 Best Float Gateway Garden Center for its Alice in Wonderland float |
DiRenzo drove down Old Lancaster Pike in a bright red Mazda Miata, waving as people stood on tiptoe to get a glimpse of his car’s flashing headlights.
This was the first Hockessin Fourth of July parade for David Venet, of Charter Oaks, who lifted his 2-year-old son, Blaise, onto his shoulders so he could have a better view of the colorful fire engines.
Venet, a native of France, said the parade’s diversity made it enjoyable and the happiness in the air made it impossible not to smile.
