News

Parade celebrates America’s 250th birthday and small-town life

Hendersonville celebrated America’s 250th birthday Saturday with a parade that included people dressed as Revolutionary War soldiers.

By Kevyn Carter-Long, Published: July 5, 2026

Hendersonville celebrated America’s 250th birthday Saturday with a bustling red, white and blue parade down Main Street.

Despite temperatures that climbed into the 90s, the community showed up on the morning of the Fourth of July and showed out for town and country. At every corner, American flags waved and families, couples and friends decked out in patriotic attire cheered the parade floats.
People lined Main Street in camp chairs from home and seats from cafes and restaurants. Some enjoyed the parade while sitting on the curb, while store front owners watched and cheered from their shop windows.
Suzanne and Allen McCalla, of Greenville, S.C., were among the hundreds of people who braved the heat for the parade downtown.
They said they came to Hendersonville Saturday because they wanted to be a part of a “more Americana” celebration for the nation’s milestone birthday.
“I like seeing all of the rescue, police, military and veterans,” Suzanne said.
Not only did Hendersonville offer the parade and fireworks they were searching for, it also won out for being 8 degrees cooler than Greenville, they said.
Traveling a bit farther than Greenville, Kate Cortez and her friend, Jojo, came up from Atlanta to visit Kate’s mom, Jen, and get a taste of America 250 — Hendersonville-style.

“I’ll be back,” Jojo said after experiencing a little of what the community has to offer.
Jen, who lives only five minutes from Main Street, moved to Hendersonville from Atlanta almost four years ago “looking for the small-town life.” Her daughter, Kate, visits three or four times a year for “fresh air” and is always excited to visit the “fun little stores” and the North Carolina Apple Festival on Labor Day weekend.
County commissioners, first responders, the Apple Tart Queens and employees from Practical Plumbing rolled down Main Street, seemingly eager to see and feel and shout back the same love that hundreds of spectators gave to them.
Bevie and the Starlites serenaded the crowds and the Hendersonville Honeycrisps baseball team pitched greetings from the #StayCrispy van as seamlessly as dancers from Next Level Dance and Pat’s School of Dance leapt and pranced.

Parade entries included 250th birthday cakes, Hendersonville’s martial arts clubs, the Henderson County Republican Party, whose float won first place for Most Original, and the Democratic Party, and Indivisible of Henderson County, which scored a third place ribbon for Best Use of Theme. A patrol car from Henderson County Sheriff’s Office had to compete for the crowd’s attention with a 1960 Chevrolet Impala Convertible carrying parade chair Sheila Kelly.

The parade, which is sponsored by the Hendersonville Business & Merchants Association, drew more than 70 entries, and included over 100 vehicles and participants.

“It was our biggest Fourth of July parade,” said Bessie Bright, one of the parade organizers. “It was the most interesting and everybody in it followed the theme of America 250. All the floats and participation was fantastic.”

SUBHED

Declaration of Independence

The morning activities concluded when Bryan Byrd, who has served as emcee for other local events, delivered a powerful reading of the Declaration of Independence at the Historic Courthouse, where visitors gathered and listened attentively to the stirring words the Founding Fathers drafted 250 years ago.
As the streets cleared after Byrd’s reading and everyone hurried to sit down for lunch or find their cars, Anita Burns, a Hendersonville resident of almost 10 years, said the number of people who turned out for the downtown festivities caused her to feel both surprised and hopeful.
“I think that’s proof that there are a lot of people who are concerned and who want to celebrate our community, our state and the U.S.,” she said.

The big parade made Burns appreciate Hendersonville’s natural appeal as a Smalltown USA in the Blue Ridge Mountains setting.

“When I first got here from California, I stayed in an Airbnb in someone’s home in Canton and I was here for a whole month trying to figure out where I wanted to land,” she said. “And I realized, coming from San Diego, it made no sense at all for me to go to another big city. So I just followed my phone and it brought me to Hendersonville, and I drove down Main Street and said, ‘Oh, I’m home. This is it.’”

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PARADE WINNERS: Best Use of Theme: Bryan Easler Toyota, 1st;  The Emporium, 2nd; Indivisible of Henderson County, 3rd. Most Attractive: Henderson County Heritage Museum, 1st;  Apple Tart Queens, 2nd; East Henderson Youth Football Cheerleaders, 3rd.  Most Original: Henderson County Republican Party, 1st; WNC Air Museum, 2nd; VFW Post 5206 Auxiliary, 3rd. Special Certificates: 1776 Bail Bond, Does Grove No. 258. President’s Choice: Pat’s School of Dance.