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Community Corner

Napa Prepares for Today's Parade

With the fly-over of two WW2 trainer planes and 74 other entries, the Sunrise Rotary hopes to "dazzle all of you." The downtown parade starts at 1 pm at Second and School (map attached). Napa community leader Jim Roberts will preside as Grand Marshal.

American flags, a marching band, colorfully decorated floats, arm-waving dignitaries in convertibles and a military color guard are the ingredients for a traditional . Napa has jumped back on the bandwagon.

The parade is sponsored by , and they've announced the late addition of a "grand finale" for the parade, the 1:30 p.m. airplane fly-over of two T-28 WW2-era fight trainers. Tom McGee and wingman Gary Koverman will pilot the historic single prop planes noted for their maneuverability.

Going to the parade? Taking pictures? Napa Patch will have a public Viewfinder gallery of the parade, live on this site this afternoon. Keep your eye out for the story later today -- adding a digital photo is easy!

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Doris Gentry, chair of the parade committe, also pointed out the color guard detail, the 59th Army Marching Band from the California Governor's office. "This year is sure to dazzle all of you," she said.

Jim Roberts, 84, has the honor of this year’s Fourth of July Parade Grand Marshal. The show gets on the road Monday at 1 p.m. in downtown Napa, are the passing parade is expected to last about an hour. 

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The parade will feature over 75 entries, up from the first year's 60, according organizer Gentry. Highlights include the following:

  • Wells Fargo Horse-drawn Stage Coach
  • Governor’s 59th Army Marching Band
  • Restored 1957 Ford Napa Police Car
  • 5 WW II & Korean War Jeeps
  • 1929 Model A Popcorn Wagon
  • Flyover by Two T-28 planes (at 1:30 pm)


Judging and loudspeakers announcing the entrants will be set up at on First Street. “People should show up early to the plaza with their lawn chairs and ice chests. The area begins to fill up around 9 a.m.,” said Gentry.

The parade route starts downtown at Second and School streets, marches east on Second to Main, then north to First and west on First to Franklin. See with this article. There is also a PDF of the in the image gallery as well, so you can watch out for your favorite.

For more information on Monday's event, contact parade chair Doris Gentry by email.

"This year is sure to dazzle all of you," said Gentry in a note to entrants. "We have horses, fire trucks, costumed walkers and lots of floats. You will be very proud to be in the Napa 4th of July Parade!"

Grand Marshal Jim Roberts feels humbled being chosen to lead this year’s parade. “I am honored by this. I am a 'parade kind of guy' — old fashioned — with the streets lined with children,” Roberts said.

“I feel pretty lucky when something like this happens. People have been very nice to me,” he added.

Roberts recalls he was home reading when he received the call from Gentry naming him grand marshal. “She told me I’d better be sitting down. I was reading, so fortunately, I was already sitting down,”  Roberts said.

As a member of the , Roberts has been the vision behind upgrading and constructing playgrounds and equipment throughout the county. It is one of the club’s commitments to community service.
The Kiwanis has upgraded or built 50 playgrounds with two more in the planning stages. It has all been accomplished by raising about half-million dollars, he estimated.

Now retired, Roberts is likely most remembered as the owner of the Hallmark store in Bel-Aire Plaza for 35 years. Some of Robert’s other achievements include: 1993 Napa Chamber of Commerce’s Outstanding Community Booster of the Year, organizes trips and outings for special needs children, participants in Special Olympics, president of the Friends of the Napa Library and was president of Kiwanis Club of Napa in 1979.

He and his wife Dorothy Roberts, who’ve been married 64 years, moved to the Napa Valley in 1953, first living in St. Helena before moving to Napa in 1959.

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