Special by Kyle Kramm, Main Street & CVB Director
(Seguin) — The start of summer is always a busy time for the Seguin Main Street Program as we host the Central Park Summer Concert Series, the Biggest Small-Town Fourth of July Parade, and work with our partners to host community events downtown. All this activity would not be possible without the support of sponsors, partners, volunteers, and the community.
The 2024 Central Park Summer Concert Series featured music from the Comal Community Band, Runnin’ on MT, Gacho Sol, Rio, and the San Antonio Symphonic Band. All the bands put on great shows to large crowds. Additionally, local food trucks and nonprofits were at the concerts selling delicious food and beverages. Thanks to Hill Country Ears for providing sound for the concerts.
Generous donations were received from local businesses, industries, and individuals. The Concert Series presenting sponsor was Niagara Bottling, LLC. Additional sponsors are Alamo Group, Anders Pierce Realty, CMC Steel Texas, Guadalupe Regional Medical Center, GVEC, The Koehler Company, Seguin Electric Company, Starcke Furniture, Tri-County A/C & Heating LLC, and City of Seguin Main Street Program. Special thanks to these local businesses, industries, and individuals for their contributions. The concerts would not be possible without their assistance.
The concert series led right up to Seguin’s Independence Day Celebrations which started with Freedom Fiesta. Seguin Main Street appreciates all the hard work KWED 1580 puts into hosting this community festival in downtown Seguin. The fiesta brought thousands of people to downtown Seguin to celebrate and enjoy some great music.
On July 4, the events kicked off with a flag raising ceremony in Central Park. While the flag raising ceremony was happening, Seguin Rotary members and other City staff members were hard at work marshaling the parade entries into place. Then after the parade, these volunteers helped clean up the parade staging areas.
Many businesses assisted in helping to put on a successful parade. Special thanks to D & D for providing hay bales for the City Council’s float, Dietz Tractor for supplying the trailer for the City Council’s float, John Deere/Tellus for donating ATVs for City use, Rotary Club of Seguin for providing volunteers, Seguin Chevrolet for providing convertibles for the Parade Marshals, and Ascot’s Custom Travel, Goetz Funeral Home, M.E. Plumbing, Palace Theatre, Palmer Mortuary, Quality BioResources, Inc., and the Texas Theatre for allowing the parade staging to be held in their parking lots.
Thank you to Linda Duncan and Mary Jane Windle who served as the announcers for the 2023 Biggest Small-Town Parade. Volunteering to serve as the parade judges were Jennifer Gauna, Ashley Hopper, and Councilman Chris Rangel.
The parade would not be possible without the support of the City of Seguin’s Departments. Almost all City departments have a role to play with preparing for the parade – from Parks helping set up the review stand and cleaning Central Park to Public Works setting up hundreds of barricades and sprucing up the parade route – hundreds of hours of labor goes into putting on a safe and fun event.
The parade had over 165 entries and we want to thank the entries for braving the Texas heat and bringing their patriotic floats to make Seguin’s parade the Biggest Small-Town Fourth of July Parade!
Finally, we want to thank the public for their continued support and coming out to enjoy events in beautiful downtown Seguin. This year’s Fourth of July festivities welcomed visitors from San Diego, Atlanta, and from across the state of Texas. We are so pleased to share downtown Seguin with the world.