July 4th Celebration Details
Grand Marshall Randy Thompson; Complete list of events; Parade theme: Under the Sea
NOTE: We will update activities and offerings as the date gets closer.
Thursday, July 3:
6 p.m. Hilly Hobble Foot Race registration begins in front of HCS.
6:30 p.m. 10k begins at bottom of Buck Hill Road West.
7 p.m. 5k begins at bottom of Buck Hill Road West.
7:10 p.m. Kids' 2k race begins at Veteran's Park/Good Times Cafe.
Race finishes in Veteran's Park.
Friday, July 4:
10 a.m. Parade assembly begins at bottom of Buck Hill Road West and Route 116. Register your float or organization at hinesburgrec.com. Judging begins at 10:30 a.m. – don't miss out!
Please note that Route 116 is closed 10:45-11:45 a.m.
11 a.m. Parade starts at bottom of Buck Hill Road West and Route 116, follows through village, turning onto Mechanicsville Road, ending at the Post Office.
Community Alliance Church will serve ice cream in front of the Hinesburg Nursery School after the parade.
Noon-3 p.m. Hinesburgh Public House's Lawn Party.
6:30-9 p.m. Vachsean will perform at HCS gazebo followed by the fireworks at dusk. Please note, there is NO rain date for the fireworks this year.
Assorted food vendors will be at HCS.
Annual Balloon Selling Sign-Up
Since 1983, Roger Kohn and Miriam Adams have organized and sold balloons at the Hinesburg July 4th Celebration. Each year, they assemble a crew of volunteers to meet at Kohn Rath, located at 10719 Route 116, to blow up, assemble and sell balloons. Balloon sellers are dispatched for sales before and during the parade and for the hours prior to the fireworks behind Hinesburg Community School. After covering the cost of the balloons, string, and helium, all proceeds come to the town for future fireworks displays. This initiative is in its 41st year. This year, the Rec. Dept. is assisting to get the word out to recruit more volunteers to keep the tradition going. You can sign up at hinesburgrec.com for a time slot for balloon assembly and/or sales. Please help continue this amazing tradition.
2025 4th of July Grand Marshal: Randy Thompson
By Tom Giroux
The Recreation Commission has chosen Randy Thompson, a 41-year member of the Hinesburg Fire Department, to be the 2025 July 4th parade Grand Marshal.
Randy is only 56 years old, but as a freshman at CVU in 1984, he was HFD's first person to serve in the Junior Membership Program. At that time, he liked being at the fire station, and he quoted then-Fire Chief Bernard Giroux as saying, "if you're going to hang out around here all the time, I'm going to put you to work." Three months later, after many, many volunteer hours of sweeping the floor and the parking lot, and washing the fire trucks and the water hoses, the HFD made him an official member of their team.
Mr. Thompson is one of the five current members who have qualified to join the "20 Year Life Membership Club.” The others are Al Barber, Tom Boivin, John Lyman, and Eddie Wait. Congrats and thanks to them all.
During his 41 years of service with HFD, Randy has served as a Training Officer, 1st and 2nd Lieutenant, Captain, 2nd Assistant Chief, and 1st Assistant Chief. His roles have been extremely valuable to the Town of Hinesburg. When he first started, there were 34 active members on the HFD; the numbers continue to decline in these changing times. Presently their staff is down to 12 active volunteer members: Chief Prescott Nadeau, and two full-time fire/rescue employees who work Monday through Friday. Randy is disappointed that more people don't join, but realizes the challenges. These include the 250 training hours that are required to be a "Firefighter #1,” plus the regular training at the fire station. He feels the requirements are demanding, and the time commitment involved may be turning away too many future prospects to volunteer. Randy states that the average length of membership when he started in 1984, was almost 30 years, compared to 2025, where it's only about two years, which is disturbing to him.
Randy was born and raised in Hinesburg, and grew up with five siblings. One brother, Pat, was also a fireman in Hinesburg for 12 years. Randy's employment history has included many years of working for fellow HFD members who owned businesses in town. These included trades like carpentry, welding, farming, and electrician. He enjoyed working at Giroux Body Shop, partially because Bernard was the fire chief at the time, but was also a great mentor, and taught him how to weld. He enjoys NASCAR, and helping neighbors and friends with the valuable skills he has obtained in his lifetime.
In all his years of dedication to the Town of Hinesburg, he has seen the results of many bad vehicle accidents, and the 2008 cheese plant fire was the biggest fire he recalls. A heart-stopping response call was in 1991, when a deer hunter was shot in the woods and died. Those bad experiences have been overshadowed by the good times. He has enjoyed the fundraising years when the HFD offered catering services for the cheese plant, Hinesburg Sand and Gravel, the Chittenden Bank, and Blodget Oven; coin drops for our fireworks; and the yearly HFD celebration at Bernard and June's house, with the pool, volleyball and horseshoes.
Randy Thompson has really earned this role as the Grand Marshal, and the Town of Hinesburg thanks him for his outstanding 41 years of service. Please give him a "Thank you," a wave, and a large cheer as he goes by in the special firetruck that will be transporting him through the parade route.