Cherry Hill Cancels Inaugural 4th Of July Parade; Lack Of Sign-Ups, Mayor Says

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Cherry Hill's 4th of July Parade has been canceled, with officials citing a lack of enrolled participants for the inaugural event.

The cancelation leaves Cherry Hill without an official Independence Day celebration. Some residents, including mayoral candidate Nicole Nance, wondered whether the township performed enough outreach for the parade.

"We are a township of 72,000-plus, and I’m just not sure how many people were reached out to for this event," Nance, a Republican, said at Monday's Towship Council meeting.

Officials opted to cancel the event because of a lack of sign-ups, according to Mayor Susan Shin Angulo.

"Unfortunately, it was extremely disheartening for me to cancel it, but we had nobody show up," Angulo said. "I think it was like eight people that signed up for the parade, and we have so many resources to use the money it will take to have a parade. But in the future, at least we know that we could maybe have a parade next year."

Angulo encouraged attendance for other community-sponsored events, including Saturday's Juneteenth celebration and the "Music Under the Stars" concert series in July.

• Read more: Cherry Hill Celebrating Juneteenth With Parade, Festival

The township held a popular fireworks show for nearly 30 years. But the show was canceled in 2014 after public-safety officials said the location could no longer handle large crowds. Attendance for the event had increased because other towns had canceled their fireworks displays.

The Cherry Hill Recreation Department previously hosted an Independence Day 5K and Block Party in 2021 at Croft Farm and held the same 5K last year.