This letter is to express my utter shock at the parade committee and the town of Charlestown with their handling the fact that they do not want a balloon vendor at their parade.
For as long as I have been planning the parades in Westerly/Pawcatuck, we have always had vendors at them. It saddens me to see a group so narrow minded that they will deprive children with the chance to leave the parade with a souvenir of the event. Many parents look forward to this as it bolsters a memory of an event that was enjoyable for the child.
I also realize that some vendors step out of line when it comes to selling their wares at some of these events. That is why guidelines are set and enforced. I have dealt with many vendors in this town and we have had an ordinance in place to control them. If they do not abide, they will not be here next time.
As for Stuart Fishman, he has been selling at our parades for many years, and he has been apprized of the ordinance and he does abide by it, as well as his workers.
The ordinance is set that no vendor shall sell his wares within 50 feet of any monument in town, and any violation gets them ejected from any more activity with the possibility of losing their license to sell at future events.
I hope Charlestown looks at this type of control rather than deny the enjoyment of parent and child a chance to purchase a souvenir of the event.
Memorial Day is a solemn day, and if they feel that way about it, then maybe they should not have the parade as it is a celebration of the veterans who have survived and returned so we could celebrate such a day. To really see a solemn ceremony in action is not only awesome but is a grim reminder that some have paid the ultimate price, and we remember them this way. If they feel that the parade should be a solemn event, then change it to a funeral dirge and live with it. The parade is a celebration. The ceremonies are for the remembrance.
I have been doing the parades in Westerly/Pawcatuck since 1991, and I do not see them as a solemn event. The ceremonies that we hold during the parade are the solemn events. We march, play music, greet and sometimes go out and shake a hand during the parade. We stand at attention and salute while Taps and the rifle salutes are being done and some of us cry. That is the solemn part.
Dan Lapointe Westerly Chairman Westerly/Pawcatuck Veteran’s Board of Control |
