Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido says he’s not red.
And he’s not blue.
He’s red, white and blue.
To show his pride for America — and his lifelong love of parades — he announced Nov. 6 plans to make the county the center of America’s 250th Independence Day and birthday celebration in Michigan in an event called Macomb 250.
That includes a vehicle parade called Pete’s Patriotic Parade.
Sporting a tie with an American flag print, Lucido announced the event in Mount Clemens, saying he hopes citizens, groups, municipalities and the county’s elected leaders will come together for activities and a parade along Gratiot Avenue, from Eastpointe in the south to Richmond in the north. Lucido said registered parade vehicles would be decorated in red, white and blue.
The event has a website, Macomb250.com, and a Facebook page where people can sign up to volunteer or be a sponsor and later share events celebrating America’s 250th birthday on July 4, 2026.
A release announcing the event indicates no government resources will be used in the celebration. Lucido filed paperwork Nov. 3 to establish a domestic limited liability company, Macomb 250 LLC, which lists him as the agent at a Shelby Township address, according to state records.
In a video on the Macomb250.com website, Lucido makes his announcement in Mount Clemens, the county seat, with county buildings as a backdrop. He stands in front of a red, white and blue banner reading “America’s 250 1776 ∙ 2026” and a large red 2, a large white 5 and a large blue 0.
“You know, we have difficult times every day here in this country. But let’s try to remember, we’re all Americans,” he said in the video. “So, I’m not red. I’m not blue. I’m red, white and blue as it relates to the Patriotic Parade and, in addition, to all of those events that we are going to cast out there to the entire country that we’re going to celebrate here in Macomb County.
“Let’s be the focal point. Let’s be the difference. And let’s be the ones that celebrate and give thanks for this great country that we live in. Let’s salute our soldiers, wave our flags and say I’m a proud American and we stand together.”
Lucido, a Republican and supporter of President Donald Trump, is encouraging every municipality to do something special.
Trump is leading the Salute to America 250 Task Force (Task Force 250) for a full year of festivities that were to launch on Memorial Day of 2025 and continue through July 4, 2026, according to the White House website.
It encourages federal, state and local governments, private sector, nonprofit and educational institutions as well as citizens across the U.S. to join the celebration. The task force partnered with Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, to provide a history series telling the story of American independence.
America250 also is a bipartisan initiative working to engage Americans in commemorating the country’s 250th anniversary.
The U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, established by Congress in 2016 to plan and orchestrate the 250th anniversary, has 16 private citizens, four U.S. representatives and four U.S. senators, as well as a dozen ex officio members from the three branches of the federal government and its independent agencies, according to America250.org.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X: @challreporter.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press.
Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido planning parade to celebrate country’s 250th birthday
Reporting by Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
