Shorewood's Fourth a Celebration of Community

The Shorewood fireworks will light up the night sky as usual this July 4 at Atwater Beach, but not before a host of other Independence Day activities paint the village red, white and blue.

Monday kicks off with a free annual open swim at the Shorewood High School's pool from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Then, bands, ponies and floats will gather along with parade-goers around 3:30 p.m. at North Oakland Avenue and East Kensington Boulevard and march south down Oakland Avenue ending at River Park/Spector Field on East Edgewood Avenue.

Jan Zehren, parade organizer, said the parade is a community event.

"This is the year for getting to know your neighbor a little bit better," she said.

Shorewood residents Alex and Barbara Hill lead the parade.

Prior to the parade, Shorewood Patch staffers will be handing out goodies to spectators along the parade route.

0Music by local band, Red Hot Dixie Jazz Band, free ice cream and Tae Kwon Do demonstrations greet the parade at its end in River Park.

At 6 Monday night, there will be food, beverages, music and of course — fireworks.

Shorewood's traditional July Fourth celebration at Atwater Park will continue despite construction, however village officials urge you to get your spot early for the fireworks because of space limitations on the grass. North Lake Drive will be barricaded, to allow for seating on the street.

Construction is schedule to wrap up mid-July, after floods last year caused further erosion to the already questionable turf. The village is also installing a boardwalk on the beach, sponsored by the Friends of Atwater Beach.

Music will fill the evening air at 6:30, when the Shorewood Concert Band performs, with the Tweed Funk Band taking over at 7:30 for the remainder of the evening. This band, which features Shorewood's own talented J.D. Optekar, is quickly becoming a top Milwaukee group with full bookings across the country. Their CD, Bringin' It, enjoyed five weeks in the top 10 in the Roots charts.

The flag ceremony commences at 8 p.m.

The fireworks will light up the night sky around 9:30 p.m., under its sole sponsor the Shorewood Foundation, despite some issues with funding.

The Shorewood Foundation has been the sole sponsor of the fireworks display itself for over ten years, spending about $10,000 every year on the display by Mad Bomber Fireworks Productions.

Funding the fireworks this year was never a question, but the foundation is having trouble keeping up with all the grant requests they receive for non-profit projects in the village.

“We have been getting more grant requests than we have funds for lately,” Shorewood Foundation President Michelle Boehm said. “I am sure that has something to do with all of the budget cuts that have been happening over that last few years.”

The foundation hasn’t had to turn anyone down yet, but they expect to make some tough decisions at their next meeting, when Boehm said it plans to allocate all funds remaining in their account.

“We will have to say no to someone,” Boehm said. “It’s unusual for us to not be able to fund as many things as we would like.”

Boehm hopes donations will roll in soon for the next round of grants. Each round covers a two-month span.

Visit the village's website for more information on Monday's events.

Also, there is still time to enter Monday's parade, call Tom Rebholz (964-8659) to register.