July 4th, 2008

Celebrating Our Founding Fathers

Join the Children's Bicycle Parade

Each year a favorite Fourth of July event for both participants and spectators is the Children’s Bicycle Parade run by the Amherst Lions Club. Children decorate their bicycles or scooters in red, white, and blue and ride proudly down Main Street toward the town hall.

This year the bicycles will gather at Knight’s Field at the end of Main Street on Friday, July 4th at 9:30 a.m. in time for the official judging at 9:45 a.m. Bicycle decorations will be judged for originality, creativity, and effort on the part of the child. There are five categories, four of which are based on age and each of which has a first, second, and third place prize of $5.00, $3.00, and $2.00 respectively. There is one general category of “carriages” and four categories of bicycles: 0-6 years, 7 and 8 years, 9 & 10 years, and 11 & 12 years. Each child who enters the contest gets a participation ribbon.

Due to state law, all children riding bikes must be wearing a helmet. Decorating the helmet is not only permissible but encouraged!

The parade is fun and festive. Besides a ribbon and perhaps a prize, each child who is part of the event gets the chance to show off his or her decorating skills and the pleasure of being a part of the parade.