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The Celebrate Birmingham Hometown Parade and Party in Shain Park will take place May 21. The parade will begin at 1 p.m., followed by a party in Shain Park ending at 4 p.m.
The parade will include several community groups, including the Baldwin Public Library, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, veterans groups, the Piety Hill Daughters of the American Revolution and the Redford Township unicycle club.
This is the second parade since a hiatus caused by the pandemic.
The Baldwin Public Library will be showing off its new book bike during the parade. The book bike is actually a tricycle with a box on the front that opens up. This lets them bring library materials, used books for sale and other marketing materials from the library.
The library plans to bring the bike to several community events throughout the summer.
“The main mission of the bike is to share news about the library,” Library Director Rebekah Craft said.
Baldwin Public Library officials thanked Moosejaw in downtown Birmingham for helping get the bike up and running.
For the first time since the pandemic, the Seaholm High School marching band will be participating in the parade.
“I want to thank the presenting sponsors,” Deputy City Clerk Christina Woods said. “We have Bloom Pediatrics and the Bank of Ann Arbor. Without them, we would not be able to put this on at all.”
Beier Howlett, PC, is the parade master for the Celebrate Birmingham Hometown Parade and Party in Shain Park; the Piety Hill Daughters of the American Revolution is a parade supporter, and Goldfish Swim School is a parade friend.
Woods acknowledged that parades are often core memories engrained in people's childhood and said Birmingham loves putting on this parade each year.
“We love to present this Birmingham parade because it focuses on our community and the different aspects and organizations within our community that we have pride in,” Woods said. “It just really gives that hometown feel and connects you to your neighbors and the different people and organizations that help make our community go around.”
After the parade, a variety of family fun activities will be offered at Shain Park. The Oakland County Parks and Recreation Department will be bringing putt-putt and an interactive kids area with bubbles, chalk and other fun activities. Kids can enjoy the trackless train, face painting and crafts at Shain Park.
This year, the nonprofit Arts & Scraps will be joining the celebration. Arts & Scraps is a Detroit nonprofit that promotes sustainability. They will be providing kids with an environmentally friendly craft with materials that would have otherwise been recycled or thrown in the trash.
Visit bhamgov.org for more information on the event.
