Everything’s all set for the 23^rd edition of the Wise July 4 Independence Day parade and festival. Mary Ann Perkinson, one of the organizers, said participants can enjoy live music, children’s activities and food and craft vendors after the parade passes by, but she’s not spilling the beans about the parade – “You’ll have to come see what they are – we’re not going to tell all of our secrets,” Perkinson said on Thursday’s TownTalk.

Bring a chair so you can sit under the shade of the trees in the church yard or under the pavilion at Wise Baptist Church, she said. Feature Attraction will be performing during the festival, which begins as soon as the last parade entry passes by.

They’re still taking entries, so anyone with a pretty, shiny car to show off or a wagon pulling grandchildren is welcome to phone Gary Paynter 252.438.0574. (No motorcycles or four-wheelers, she said.)

The parade begins at 10 a.m., so entrants need to be lined up earlier than that just across U.S. 1 from Bruce Parkinson’s home, Perkinson said. The parade route will follow U.S. 1 and will end right at the old school at Wise Baptist Church.

There’s plenty of parking there for people, and Perkinson said she and other organizers figure there will be upwards of 5,000 people who stop in between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The parade and festival got its start in 2000, and since then, they’ve only missed one year. Yep, one parade was sidelined because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There will be different foods for sale, including homemade ice cream in flavors like peach, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla.

“It’s just a fun day for everybody,” Perkinson said. Organizing it is “a lot of work, but we do it because we love our community and we hope people will come.”

For more information about parade entry, vendor space or the car show please contact Gary Paynter at 252.438.0574, Danielle Edgerton at 252.204.2605 or Mike McCray at 919.604.3081.

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