Brunswick ends Fourth of July weekend with parade

BRUNSWICK — The Brunswick community gathered together to watch a parade featuring veterans groups, first responders, the Brunswick Marching Blue Devils and other community organizations on Sunday. The parade route primarily went down state Route 303 from Brunswick Middle School to Brunswick High School. Sheila Watson is a Brunswick resident who has organized the city's summer parade for the past two years. She decided she wanted to organize the parade because she wanted to bring joy to the Brunswick community. She has memories of gathering with her neighbors to watch the parade when her kids were younger. "It's like a big hug for Brunswick," she said. "It doesn't matter what age you are. Everybody loves a parade, and it's something you can do for free for all ages." Watson estimated that this year's parade was around 15 percent bigger than it was last year with more vehicles and more participants walking the parade route. One of her goals is to make the parade as entertaining as possible. "It gets everybody together," she said. "There's so many things out there with people having bad days or things happening. This is something fun, and it honors our veterans, our police and fire and our teachers." The parade finished off Brunswick's Fourth of July celebrations. The city of Brunswick also had a concert featuring "Funkology" on the lawn of the Brunswick Recreation Center on Thursday with fireworks following the performance. Watson ran a youth football league for 20 years in Brunswick. She said since she lives and works in the community, she feels like she should give back to it as well. "If everybody gave back a little bit, think of how wonderful everything would be," she said. "This is what I can do. I can organize." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.