As the town of Warren, the Mad River Valley Rotary and Warren businesses work on plans for this year’s Fourth of July parade and street party, Warren Store/Pitcher Inn owner George Dorsey has confirmed that The Grift will be playing on the deck of The Warren Store after the parade.
Ben Olds, who is managing the Fourth of July celebration for the Rotary said that details are still being worked out in terms of whether Jewell House, a local band that has played on the deck of the store in years past would be playing at the town pavilion near the town offices/town hall and library or on a flatbed in the streets or even possibly at Brooks Field if infrastructure needs can be managed.
Olds said the plan for food vendors is still a work in progress, but he noted that Dorsey was willing to host food vendors on The Warren Store property with proper documentation from the town in terms of insurance coverage. Dorsey is amenable to port-o-lets on his properties and more will be located in the town pavilion area.
“One suggestion was to have food vendors on Flat Iron Road and we’re looking into that. It may or may not work,” Olds said.
During a January 13 select board meeting, Olds approached the select board with proposed changes to the Fourth of July celebration, including possibly moving Brooks Field activities to Sugarbush to better accommodate what he anticipates will be a larger than average crowd for the event. He also told the board that Dorsey did not want to host the larger Jewell House band on The Warren Store deck because it is not structurally sound enough to accommodate such a large group. The Grift is a four-person band.
The select board and the public were lukewarm on that idea due to the logistics of getting all the people in Warren Village out of the village and up to the mountain, but also there was little appetite for making such a significant change to the historic event. The board did let Olds know that the need for more activities at Brooks Field, including food and drink, would make the town willing to offer more funding and help local Rotarians find more volunteers to make the event work.
After that meeting, in subsequent emails with Olds, board members kicked around ideas for this year’s festivities, which feature the unveiling of a 50-year-old time capsule which the historical society will display as well as the celebration of the country’s 250th birthday.
On January 17, select board chair Devin Klein Corrigan noted, via email, that the board would get back to Olds as soon as budgeting is completed for Town Meeting 2026 in March, promising to get back to him by February 11.
“This is a very big decision and one that will have consequences for us as a board and town for years to come. Please hang tight while we try to thread this needle. In the meantime, please feel comfortable working toward a revamped program at Brooks Field, with some added funds to support it (still TBD what amount) and alternative places to host food in the village, i.e. Flatiron and/or the municipal lot,” she wrote.
Board member Joel Taplin said he thought having Jewell House play on a flatbed truck after the parade ended could be an option.
“When they are done with their set the other band could play at The Warren Store. This would keep the action happening in the village for a longer amount of time giving the possibility of a larger crowd this year something to do and keeping them in a space where they will be spending money,” he wrote.
Olds said this week that what happens at Brooks Field is still being determined. He said there are infrastructure challenges there, related to electricity and water access and needing to work around wastewater fields.
You might also like
