July 4th Parade
Welcome to the
Temple Terrace Area
Republican Club page
for the 4th of July parade info.
In 2023, the Tampa area 4th of July parade in Temple Terrace was Tuesday, July 4th, starting at 1pm.
If you like parades, YOU'LL LOVE PARTICIPATING in the parade
Only MEMBERS of the Temple Terrace Republican Club can "walk" in the annual parade, so plan to attend a meeting, get to know us, and join in the fun.
1975 is generally remembered as the first Temple Terrace 4th of July parade, in advance of the Bi-Centennial the next year. The event has run almost continuously ever since with a few missing years, [ie: pandemic] but not too many. The Tampa 4th of July parade is spotty over the years in it’s organization, so often the Temple Terrace even is the “best one” to attend. Tampa’s 1st 4th of July parade is debated, as some small groups did events, as far back as prior to Henry B Plant bringing the railroad into what we call Tampa in 1884. We assume, because of who he was, as a civic leader, some commemorative event probably occurred.
After the Lightning and the TB Buc won their championships, Tampa did a 4th of July boat parade on the Hillsborough River, as a different new event. Boat parades have become a “thing” only recently, but unless you have a personal boat, participation and viewing isn’t ideal.
The Temple Terrace 4th of July parade is super casual, family friendly, safe and fun. Parking is coordinated well and there are many parade elements from clubs and groups in Temple Terrace, and the usual politicians in convertible, waving and asking for your vote. It is just before many political primaries after all.
Early colonists celebrated “Independence Day” during the summer of 1776 by putting on mock funerals for King George III of England, symbolizing the death of the British rule in America.
The first annual commemoration of Independence Day happened on July 4, 1777, in Philadelphia….. but no parade(s) Bristol, Rhode Island is generally considered the FIRST of 4th of July celebration and parade [it was officially known as the Military, Civic and Firemen's Parade, founded in 1785. New Haven, Conn traces its July Fourth festivities back to 1788.
Did you know there is a “debate” about Independence Day? John Adams, one of the guys who signed the declaration, always contended that the “real day” was July 2nd.
If you paid attention in civics class…. [ You did pay attention in Jr High, right?] On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of declaring independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was written and re-written with many changes and amendments in the weeks prior to its final version we all know. It was “officially” adopted two days AFTER the signing, marked by the ringing of the Liberty Bell at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. So we actually celebrate the day it was officially adopted, not the day the first signatures were attached … and by the way, because of travel limitations in those day, most of the famous signatures were not added in final form, until sometime into August that year. Exactly who was “tardy-to the party” and signed “last” is debated.
All during his life time, John Adams believed that July 2, not July 4, would be the date remembered by history.
He is quoted, in a letter home to his wife, written on July 3rd, saying, “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.” Annoyed that Independence Day wasn’t celebrated on July 2, Adams reportedly turned down invitations to any events or celebrations that occurred on any July 4, through the end of his life.
Even thou, we celebrate the “wrong” day in His opinion, the Tampa area / Tempe Terrace 4th of july parade looks much like he envisioned it would across the history of the new Republic. Adams, who called for people to “celebrate the day with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
The 4th of July was celebrated annually throughout the 1790s and 1800s, and in 1870, Congress declared the day a federal holiday. It wasn’t until 1941 that the date became a paid federal holiday for federal employees. The banks and post office hopped on the “day-off” bandwagon and now so do many business, except car dealers, furniture stores and retailers who see a sales opportunity. LOL
The Temple Terrace Area Republican Club has participated in the Temple Terrace 4th of July parade for many years. We invite you to visit our city and participate. You may not know, but Temple Terrace is it’s own city, chartered in Hillsborough County and not just an urban sprawl or neighborhood of Tampa.
Do you know WHY the city is named Temple Terrace?
The name came from early Florida citrus groves, when a cross between the mandarin orange [tangerine] and the common sweet orange was created and named after Florida-born William Chase Temple, the first president of the Florida Citrus Exchange.
