Evergreen Park Residents Welcome Return Of Independence Day Parade

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — Evergreen Park residents greeted the return of the Independence Day parade in with two years’ of pent-up enthusiasm.

Hundreds of people lined 95th Street dressed in red, white and blue. The dozen or so fire trucks leading the parade with sirens and horns blasting were a little intense, but residents cheered on the youth sports teams, parishes, businesses and floats.

Evergreen Park’s own Abbey Murphy, the USA Women’s Hockey Team Silver Medalist, was the honored grand marshal.

Highlights included the Evergreen Park Community High School marching band, dance team, flag team and cheerleaders, the Jesse White Tumblers, the Medinah Shriner model T’s, Evergreen Park Stallions, American Legion Post 854, neighborhood groups and other sights for the senses. Kids also got an extra Halloween diving for treats.

The parade also marked the merger of St. Bernadette and Queen of Martyrs parishes, which went into effect Friday. Fr. Benedykt Pazdan led the faithful on a Harley-Davidson. Parishioners of the united parishes gathered before the parade to decorate a float.

The celebration was capped off by an outstanding firework show at Duffy Park that could be seen from various vantage points throughout the village.