VILLAGE OF MANLIUS – Independence Day was celebrated in Manlius last week with an evening of festivities in the center of the village.
At 5 p.m. a parade kicked off the fun, proceeding down Fayette Street as families looked on, waved back to the participants, and collected pieces of candy tossed to the roadside and sidewalk.
Introduced one by one by former Town of Manlius Supervisor Ed Theobald, the groups of people walking in this year’s Fourth of July parade included the Democratic and Republican committees and candidates for political seats as well as department staff belonging to the office of Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, the members of the Manlius Town Board, and judges Chaim Jaffe and Joseph Greenman along with Manlius Mayor Paul Whorrall and some of the village’s trustees, the latter group gathered on a swan float.
The parade was led by the Town of Manlius Police Department, and its grand marshals were brothers Francesco and Antonio Pagano, who were players for the Fayetteville-Manlius boys soccer team before they went on to win last year’s national championship with Syracuse Orange men’s soccer.
Other groups represented included Manlius VFW Post 7872, the nonprofit assisting in societal reintegration after military service Clear Path For Veterans, the Manlius and Fayetteville fire departments, the Manlius Senior Activity Centre, the Fayetteville-Manlius Outdoors Club, a Scottish pipe band and multiple other marching bands.
The pizza and beer establishment A.W. Wander, the live music venue The Rollin’ Rust Room, and breakfast spot The Daily Diner were recognized as outstanding businesses, and Scott and Deb McGrew—respectively a former Village of Manlius trustee and a volunteer with the village’s parks and recreation board—were acknowledged as joint recipients of the 2023 Distinguished Citizen Award.
There was also a mobile flag display in honor of the living veterans and in memory of the deceased who served at any point during the Vietnam War, which lasted from 1959 to 1975. The flags were enlargements of the shoulder patches worn by service personnel that identified the individual unit or command they were assigned to while in Vietnam.
As the parade drew to a close on the sunny, 80-degree day, members of the Manlius Antique and Classic Car Club honked their horns as they cruised by in such vintage rides as a 1960 Ford Thunderbird.
In that part of the village, there was later a meet-and-greet at 6 p.m. with character entertainers from Royal Promise Productions, a simultaneous appearance from Downbeat Percussion, a show by Twin Magicians at 6:30, and a performance from Letizia & The Z Band at 7.
There was also a judging of best-dressed person and pet in patriotic apparel as well as eats from a range of food trucks before the night capped off with the village’s well-attended firework display that started at dusk.
The sponsors of the festivities, which ran from 4 to 10 p.m., were Hunt Real Estate, local real estate agent Judy Winslow, Kinsella Quarries, Salt Point, Geddes Federal Savings and Loan Association, True Value and M&S Desktop Publishing.