The Flag Day Parade is an annual

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a New England town, town in, and the county seat of, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on Boston's southwestern border, the population was 25,364 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. First settled by E ...

that celebrates

Flag Day A flag day is a flag-related holiday, a day designated for flying a certain flag (such as a national flag) or a day set aside to celebrate a historical event such as a nation's adoption of its flag. Flag days are usually codified in national s ...

. The parade began in 1967 and quickly became one of Dedham's most beloved traditions. The parade has occasionally rejected controversial floats. In 1975, the Parks and Recreation Commission unanimously refused to allow an anti-busing float during the nearby

Boston desegregation busing crisis The desegregation of Boston public schools (1974–1988) was a period in which the Boston Public Schools were under court control to desegregate through a system of busing students. The call for desegregation and the first years of its implemen ...

. In 1971, after Arthur "Mr. Wake Up America" Stivaletta claimed to be a co-sponsor of the parade, Recreation Director James E. Dunderdale publicly clarified that the Parks and Recreation Department was the only sponsor. After

Proposition 2½ A proposition is a statement that can be either true or false. It is a central concept in the philosophy of language, semantics, logic, and related fields. Propositions are the object s denoted by declarative sentences; for example, "The sky ...

led to the elimination of the Recreation Director position in 1980, Anthony "JuJu" Muccaccio took over the position for a year ''pro bono.'' He was then hired full time and began running the parade, an activity he continued even after his retirement in 2010. In 2017, for the 50th anniversary, the parade was moved from the traditional June 14th to Saturday, June 17, to accommodate the fireworks at Memorial Park that were part of the celebration. The parade was nearly cancelled following the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, but a fundraising campaign saved it. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the parade was canceled in 2020 and 2021. In its place, an unofficial "rolling rally" of cars was held in its place along the same route. In 2025, several months after the death of Mucciaccio, organizers decided not to name a Grand Marshall and instead dedicate the parade to his memory.

Route

The parade takes the following route: *Starts on East Street at Dedham Middle School, *Proceeds down East street and left onto High Street, *Follows High Street into Dedham Square past the Community Theater, *Turns right onto Washington Street, *Turns right onto Harris Street, *Proceeds down High Street to East Dedham, *Turns right on Milton Street, *Turns right onto Walnut Street, *Turns left onto Oakdale Avenue, *Turns right onto Sanderson Avenue, *Turns right onto Mt. Vernon Street, *Turns left onto Whiting Avenue *Parade ends at Memorial Park.

Grand marshals

References

{{Dedham 1967 establishments in Massachusetts Dedham, Massachusetts June Parades in the United States Recurring events established in 1967 Government of Dedham, Massachusetts