Rhinelander Fourth of July Parade route changed

The 2024 Rhinelander Fourth of July parade will follow a new route this year due to public safety concerns.

The parade will begin at 11 a.m. July 4 starting at the police station on Frederick St., moving south on Brown, then east on Anderson and north on Stevens to Davenport Street.

The River News previously reported the route would be the same as in recent years. We apologize for the error.

Capt. Josh Chiamulera suggested the new route, according to Police Chief Lloyd Gauthier.

The old parade route “loops around two large parking lots (Anderson Street lots: behind Subway/CT’s Deli and Knight Gallery/Pat’s) and also the parking lots of 151/Bureau of Indian Affairs, Diel Insurance, and the other city lots by the feed store,” Gauthier noted. “We often have buses park in those lots from the marching bands along with many other people who come to watch the parade. When the marching bands are done, they get on the bus and need to leave right away to make it to the next parade they are in. The problem is the parade is still going on and we have to navigate them through the parade to get them out. We have a lot of pedestrian traffic for this event and having so many moving vehicles presents a serious safety concern. Some people park in those lots and sit near the front of the parade route. When the last parade vehicle goes by they pack up and walk to the vehicles and want to leave but are now caught because the parade is still making its loop around on Courtney Street towards Frederick Street.”

 Changing the route so that it ends near the Rhinelander District Library and Frederick Street “should make the parade safer for pedestrians,” the chief explained.