Boom Box Parade back in Windham for the 39th time

For the 39^th time, the “Boom Box Parade” celebrated the Fourth of July in Windham.

“It’s fun,” said Willimantic native Yomaliz Adams “You see a lot of people that you know, a lot of people in the community.”

The parade concept first started in 1986 when organizers couldn’t find a marching band for the Memorial Day parade. Weeks later the WILI-AM radio played marching band music over air for the July 4^th parade and the tradition has carried on.

For some Willimantic natives like Luke Poulin, the parade brings hometown pride.

“I’ve been in the parade before and it’s a fun thing to do,” said Poulin. “I go down and I see people I know. I wave and we talk about it for weeks.”

Thousands watched the parade which started at Jilson Square. Families, organization, pets and even a 100-year-old woman all marched down Main Street.

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“I’ve been marching in this parade probably since I was about 6-years-old with the cub scouts,” said CJ Baker.

While the parade has no official theme, organizers urged marchers to wear red, white and blue and bring boom boxes and tune into the radio station.