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Organizer expresses frustration over split Select Board vote on Horribles Parade
PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO
Due to issues with obtaining the necessary insurance, one of the organizers of the Horribles Parade announced the event will not happen this year.
In an email to the Independent and in a letter to the editor, Dan McIntyre noted that a recent decision by the Select Board to approve the parade permit but not provide insurance coverage through the town sealed the parade’s fate.
“Unfortunately, the sponsorship denial, which has never happened before for this parade, has necessitated the cancellation of the parade for this year,” McIntyre wrote in his letter to the editor.
“Although the town issued a permit, the separate vote to deny sponsorship of a town parade significantly increases [insurance] risk that is unacceptable for an individual volunteer,” McIntyre added in his email.
On June 17, the Select Board voted down a measure to sponsor the parade and thus allow it to use the town’s insurance. Three of the five board members expressed concerns over “budgetary restraints” and a perceived lack of input the board would have as an event sponsor.
A tradition that goes back over 100 years, the Horribles Parade returned after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic under guidance from the Hopkinton Republican Town Committee and other volunteers. While it’s intended to satirize local and national political figures, some in town have characterized the event as partisan.
In his letter, McIntyre worried about what could happen in years to come now that a precedent has been set.
“To ask volunteers facilitating this town event to also personally obtain the insurance for the town will only serve to discourage participation and volunteerism in the future,” McIntyre warned.
He also admonished the Select Board for its decision to vote for the parade permit but not the sponsorship.
“The town … either wants a July Fourth parade or it does not,” he stated. “You can’t have it both ways.”
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Photo of the Day
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PHOTO/JERRY SPAR
I do not know Mr. McIntyre personally, but I do know for a fact that he is respected across the board. While his disappointment is understandable, the Select Board voted unanimously for the parade and applied the same rule it applies to all such events i.e, to procure the mandated insurance. I would encourage the organizers to find broad support, which I am sure they can if they take out the trolling aspect of the parade, and have a grand celebration of our Independence Day.
Shame on Hopkinton!