This year’s Fourth of July parade and fireworks display will be the last one organized by the volunteer organization that has overseen the events for decades. What happens after that is uncertain.
Matt Tavares, who with his father, Ken Tavares, co-chairs the six-member July 4 Plymouth Committee, told the Select Board Tuesday night that it has decided to disband after one more holiday celebration.
For about 41 years, volunteers have put on the parade, fireworks, and in recent years, a 5-kilometer race. The July 4 Plymouth Committee was formally created in 1984.
Tavares said all three events will take place this year, and that the Plymouth Philharmonic will hold its annual concert on the waterfront before the fireworks display. The day’s festivities attract about 70,000 people, Tavares said.
The July Fourth parade has more of a smalltown feel than the Thanksgiving parade, which is run by the America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration. That event, with a much larger budget, draws marchers and other participants from New England and beyond, and is aired by WCVB-TV.
The Fourth of July events are funded through donations. Tavares said the committee hopes to raise $130,000 this year. Fundraising has often been a challenge over the years, but he did not indicate that money had anything to do with why the group is calling it quits.
“This has been a difficult decision to come to,” he said. Although he did not go into detail about the reasons behind the decision to disband the committee, Tavares said its members – which also include architect Jeff Metcalfe, South Shore Race Management owner Anne Marie Winchester, optometrist Jad Osmanski, and Mark Wells – are moving on to pursue other interests.
“We love the work,” Tavares said. “It’s just that as time goes on, people get interested in different things.”
Ken Tavares, who had been the longtime force behind the parade before his son took over, is approaching 80. He started the nonprofit after the town decided to stop running the parade and waterfront fireworks. Many people believe that the holiday events would have fizzled out years ago had it not been for the elder Tavares’s perseverance.
“He’s been the absolute consistent one,” Matt said of his father, who was in the audience at Town Hall Tuesday evening but did not speak. “It’s bittersweet for him, I think.”
Tavares said his job as a project manager for Navitas System Integration – a company that installs building automation systems – requires a bigger time commitment. He also chairs the Committee of Precinct Chairs and serves on the Distinguished Visitors Committee.
Tavares said wants to be more available for his children, one of whom is getting ready to enter college and another about to enter high school.
For now, the future of the July Fourth parade and fireworks is up in the air. The committee has begun to reach out to other organizations to determine whether one or more might be able to organize the parade and fireworks. He did not name any people or groups, saying the talks are preliminary.
South Shore Race Management is prepared to continue overseeing the 5k race, Tavares said.
Select Board member David Golden called the timing of the July Fourth group’s decision “unfortunate,” noting that 2026 will mark the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“I would hate to see this tradition leave our town,” Golden said before announcing that said he will volunteer “in any capacity” to help ensure that the events continue after this year. He also said he hoped there would be “support from the town side to make sure that this continues to move forward even as you folks move on to other aspects of your lives.”
Tavares assured the Select Board that July 4 Committee members will be available to lend their advice even after they formally step down.
“We’re not just going to drop the ball and be gone,” he said. “I would be disappointed if we weren’t leaned on heavily again to help, because it is a lot of work.”
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.