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Gatlinburg’s 4th of July Midnight Parade
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Gatlinburg’s 4th of July Midnight Parade
On your mark, get set, go!
Gatlinburg, Tennessee, lays claim every year to the earliest Independence Day parade in the nation, and it’s worth staying up—or waking up—to see. The town’s award-winning “Fourth of July Midnight Parade” kicks off at 12:01 a.m. each July 4 and runs for about 90 minutes. Yup, it’s a grand, glittering middle-of-the-night extravaganza, with all the noise and hoopla, all the red, white and blue bunting and banners, all the drummers and dancers of a more conventional July 4 parade. This is a parade that lights up the night and lifts the spirits.
In typical Gatlinburg fashion, the event appeals to everyone from toddlers to great-grandparents; usually about 80,000 people line the mile-long route along downtown streets to enjoy the spectacle. That’s 20 visitors for every full-time Gatlinburg resident. Amazing but true: the town’s population numbers just 4,000, yet more than 12 million visitors stop by for family fun every year; as a gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, America’s most visited national park, the little town has an infrastructure that encourages a park-and-walk approach.
For the best view of the midnight parade it’s important to save a spot on the sidewalk sometime on July 3, or even a day earlier. Visitors to town will see lawn chairs set up to reserve spaces while their owners walk around until the parade starts.
The parade begins at the Baskins Creek Bypass on East Parkway, then follows the parkway downhill into the heart of town near the Great Smokies park entrance, and finishes up at traffic light #10.
Gatlinburg’s Fourth of July Midnight Parade began in 1975 or 1976, depending on the source, and has continued ever since except for a year’s pause during the first wave of the pandemic.
The parade marchers may hail from long distances but are slanted toward Tennessee’s proud history as The Volunteer State. Law enforcement, armed forces, veterans and first responders step smartly, underlining the state’s well-deserved reputation for “military and political prowess,” as legislators have recognized.
The uniformed services have always played a big part, and military bands will perform free concerts around Gatlinburg on July 3 and 4.
Want more? Once the midnight parade ends, around 1:30 a.m., the crowd melts away to catch up on sleep. Then, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 4, the annual River Raft Regatta takes place on the fast-moving Little Pigeon River in the middle of town. The “rafts” are unmanned and may be anything that floats … the crazier the better. Bring your own and launch for free, starting at the Christ in the Smokies Museum. Or pay a few dollars to rent a rubber ducky; proceeds go to the Gatlinburg Chamber Foundation. The finish line is downstream at the Ripley’s Aquarium.
To round out the day’s festivities be sure to catch the big fireworks display—almost a half hour’s worth—which launches from the Space Needle downtown at 11 p.m. This year a great viewing opportunity is available at the new Gatlinburg SkyBridge, a long pedestrian suspension bridge with a viewing area that actually sits higher than the fireworks launchpad.
For more information about Gatlinburg lodging and events see gatlinburg.com.