Bigfork prepares for crowds at Fourth parade

In light of the chaos that accompanied last year’s parade, the Bigfork Chamber of Commerce has made some major changes this year in preparation for its annual Fourth of July Parade in downtown Bigfork.

Last year, the historical average number of parade-goers nearly doubled as an estimated 7,000 attendees crowded the streets of Bigfork, drawn by the fleet of Clydesdales featured in the parade.

That figure does not include the many others who went home without taking part in the festivities, due to issues with parking and the shuttles busing people to and from the parade.

Organizers had designated three parking venues with two shuttles making rounds to pick people up as they arrived for the 2017 event. However, organizers did not anticipate the overwhelming number of attendees, and the shuttles began filling up at the first stop without ever making it to the second or third.

After hours of waiting, many people gave up on the buses and left without ever making it downtown.

This year, though numbers are expected to return to around 3,000-4,000 attendees without the draw of the Clydesdales, Bigfork Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rebekah King said that the chamber is not taking any chances.

King said the shuttle process has been streamlined with a total of four buses making rounds from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

All shuttle parking will be located on the Spartan lot at the intersection of Highway 35 and Highway 82, capable of accommodating about 1,000 vehicles.

Should that fill up, King said, more parking will be available across the street at Crossroads Christian Fellowship, but shuttles will not be making stops at the church.

The buses will take alternate routes, avoiding Highway 35 traffic, to get attendees to the parade as quickly as possible.

Handicap parking and a parade viewing area will be available at the start of the parade route at First Interstate Bank on Grand Avenue for those who can’t or don’t want to walk downtown.

King advised people to plan on arriving between 9 and 11 a.m. No parking will be allowed downtown after 8 a.m. on July 4.

“What we’re really asking people to do is to help us. Come early. Enjoy Bigfork,” King said. “If you come into town at noon or even 11:45, you won’t see the parade.”

Other changes to this year’s parade also include a $15 entry fee for parade floats and required pre-registration for those participating in the parade.

The float fees, along with public donations at boxes that look like fireworks around town and donations made by local businesses, will help offset some of the parade’s $5,000 price tag.

King extended her thanks to the businesses, organizations and volunteers for their contributions to the parade.

“We’ve done everything we can think of to make it better,” King said. “We just really have to rely on the public to arrive early. There’s no way to get 2,000 people downtown in an hour.”

This year’s Western Stars and Stripes parade theme celebrates the new Bigfork Rodeo beginning July 6.

Attendees will have the chance to meet some of the cowboys at a meet-and-greet after the parade and to purchase tickets to the rodeo at a booth on site.

Also following the parade is a barbecue at the Bigfork Fire Station and the annual Ducks for Bucks rubber ducky race benefiting a Bigfork High School student scholarship fund.

For more information about the parade, visit Bigfork.org.