SEELEY LAKE – The Fourth of July is known to many as the biggest event in Seeley Lake drawing thousands of visitors who come to enjoy the lakes, the mountains and the annual parade and community-sponsored fireworks display. The Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce looks forward to continuing these traditions again this year. They are looking for a parade manager and other volunteers to help the celebration run smoothly.
A little history…
The first time the Seeley Lake parade was ever covered was in the first year of the Valley Times. They reported there were 100 entries in the 1983 Seeley Lake Businessmen’s “Better Than Ever” Parade.
Prior to 1988, an anonymous benefactor financed the fireworks over Seeley Lake. While the Pathfinder archives never say how many years this happened, in June 1988, the Chamber did not receive the expected $2,500 donation and was caught without a plan or enough time to fundraise. While there were still plenty of fireworks, the community fireworks display did not happen.
The Chamber bowed out of sponsoring the parade in 1989 and put its resources and funds behind an enlarged fireworks display the evening of July 3 over Seeley Lake. Seeley Lake businesses purchased mortar packages and Seeley Lake business owner Don Larson organized the display.
Seeley Lake did not have a parade from 1989-1991. Pathfinder editor Gary Noland noted in the July 11, 1991 issue, “Seeley has bowed to Condon the past few years and there seems little sense to have competing parades on the same day.”
Almost as if that statement was taken as a challenge, the Seeley Lake Chamber brought the parade back in 1992. There were more than 50 entries in the parade themed “Recreation – Seeley Style.” It took an hour and 20 minutes running from Pop’s Place on Redwood Drive to The Filling Station on the north end of town.
There were also “Games in the Park” at the Seeley Lake Community Park that included gunny sack and water relay races, carnival games, greased pig chases and a ping pong ball drop. Bud Lindemer flew his Piper Cub over the Seeley Lake Elementary playground dropping around 500 ping pong balls to nearly 300 children scrambling for a prize winner.
Since 1992 various activities have filled the Fourth, but the Chamber has always sponsored a parade and fireworks. The Fourth of July continues to be Seeley Lake’s largest annual event drawing an estimated 7,500+ visitors to the area to enjoy. It has been voted the Best Community Event in the Pathfinder’s Best of the Valleys Reader Choice Awards for the past two years.
“The mission for the Fourth of July parade and fireworks display event (or any Chamber Event) is to advance the general welfare and prosperity of the Seeley Lake area, so that its citizens and all areas of its business community shall prosper with a focus on economic, growth and development in the area,” wrote Lisa Hayhurst, the Chamber’s current executive director.
This year…
This year’s theme is “Destination Seeley Lake.” The celebration starts at 7 a.m. at the Seeley Lake Fire Hall for their annual pancake breakfast, followed by a free pig roast at 12 p.m. at Mission Bible Fellowship.
The parade through downtown Seeley Lake starts at 2 p.m. with the Seeley Lake Community Foundation named this year’s grand marshal. Festivities continue throughout the afternoon including the annual Duck Race down the Clearwater River starting at 4:30 p.m. The celebration wraps up with fireworks over Seeley Lake that start at 10:30 p.m.
“Many of our local businesses depend on the summer months to draw visitors to the area, with the Fourth of July being the most popular and profitable for many of these local businesses,” wrote Hayhurst. “Without the continued and future support for the Chamber, events attracting outside visitors to the area may not be possible in the coming years.”
The Pathfinder reported the fireworks display cost $1,000 in 1991. Fireworks for 2018 were nearly $5,200. The cost has risen to nearly $5,800 this year. Adding the insurance for the parade, prizes for parade winners and other costs, the Chamber spent more than $8,000 last year.
“As the event expenses continue to increase, funding the event has become more important to ensure the tradition for years to come,” said Hayhurst.
How to get involved...
The Chamber is looking for a parade manager and a few other volunteers on July 4. The parade manager would need to be available for two hours ahead of the parade and an hour or two after. Main duties include staffing the parade registration desk, putting out and picking up garbage cans and detour signs. Anyone interested in helping out are encouraged to attend the Fourth of July committee meeting May 28 at 6 p.m. at The Filling Station or contact Hayhurst.
The Filling Station is selling tickets for a raffle for an Intex Oasis Island inflatable five-seater lounge raft. Tickets are $5 each or 6 for $20 and are available until June 4. The drawing will be June 5. Another raffle will run from June 4 - July 4. All proceeds support the fireworks.
You can also support the fireworks by placing donations in the cans at Cory’s Valley Market or donating directly to the Chamber. Mail checks to PO Box 516, Seeley Lake, MT 59868. All donors who make donations to the fireworks by June 29 will be named in the Pathfinder’s July 4 issue with a dedication or memorial.
For more information or to volunteer contact Hayhurst at 677-2880 or email slchamber@blackfoot.net.
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