By Jim Bloch
“They’re cheering hip, hip hooray,” goes the old Harold Arlen song. “Oh, everybody loves a parade and look at those feet never missing a beat…”
Soon there may be one more reason to love a parade in Port Huron.
The city has signed a contract with the Parade Company of Detroit to design and build a municipal float. The company fabricates floats for the Detroit Thanksgiving Parade.
No taxpayer funds will be used for the project. City Manager James Freed said that private donors and grants will be used to fund the float, which will be eight feet wide and 28 feet long.
The Parade Company presented an elementary design for the float that includes likenesses of the Huron Lightship, the McMorran Tower, the Fort Gratiot Light House and the Blue Water Bridge. The bridge, which will span the float, will be strong enough to support seven to nine people.
In other words, the entire city council will be able to stand on the bridge during the Memorial Day Parade, the Rotary International Day Parade, July 15, and the Santa Parade.
The council voted 6-1 to approve the project at its regular meeting May 11. Council member Teri Lamb voted against the float.
“The city always had an official city float,” said Freed, as heard on the recording of the meeting posted on YouTube.
Freed showed images of the city’s 1949 float during his presentation,
Council member Barb Payton and DDA director Lisa DeLong accompanied Freed on a road trip to the Parade Company to check out options for a float.
“They build custom floats for community groups all across the region,” Freed said. “It would not be appropriate to use taxpayer money to build a parade float, although worthy and noble is the cause… We will raise private dollars to pay for it. Your tax money is not going to build a float. I have donors who want to help fund this. They believe it’s
important that the city is well represented (in local parades). But they also want to raise the bar for floats in the International Day Parade.”
The float will have lighting features that may be used during the Santa Parade, which takes place at night.
“If I get authorization for this, they can get it to us by this year’s (July 15) parade,” Freed said.
Freed called the float a “one-off novelty item” that will last for “years and years.”
Payton said she was happy to see a giant head of Bob Seeger at the Parade Company.
“Some of the big giant heads you see in the Thanksgiving Parade they’re going to loan to us to bring to Port Huron to have in our parade,” Freed said.
Given the quality of the Parade Company’s artists and craftspeople, the float “is going to be something special for our community.”
A sketch of the new city float.
“According to the resolution, it says grant funding and private donations,” noted Lamb.
“We have some funds in an account at the community foundation that may be used for this,” said Freed, who will apply for a grant for the float.
Lamb also asked about the down payment of $19,000 due May 6, five days prior to the city council meeting.
“So, we haven’t given them that,” Lamb asked.
“No,” Freed said. “I need authorization for that.”
Freed said he could raise the $38,000 within two weeks.
Mayor Pro Tem Sherry Archibald asked what would happen if he could not raise the money.
“Then I’ll write a check myself,” Freed said.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
