After a year on hiatus, Fremont’s 4th of July Parade returns to celebrate America’s semiquincentennial. Jesse Schaa, parade president, said, “A lot of people want to be part of the 250th celebration and keep the parade going.”
The parade started in 1998, hosted by the city, before the organization efforts were turned over to citizens due to budget constraints in 2001. For a while, the parade rotated among the five districts of Fremont, before settling at its current downtown location in 2012. The city returned as a sponsor in 2019.
For 2020, Fremont residents decorated their porches in lieu of having a parade, to comply with pandemic restrictions. Unfortunately in 2025, the parade was cancelled, in large part due to funding issues.
“By June 1 we were down around $45,000 from what we should have been,” said Schaa. Schaa (who had to take time off that June because of an illness) adds, “We hardly had any volunteers. Usually we have about 64 at that time for signups, and we only had 12. We cannot put on a parade without volunteers.”
In 2026, America’s 250th coincides with Fremont’s 70th, and the parade is back with 70 entries, including five marching bands, antique and military vehicles, drill teams, nine floats and five large helium balloons.
One float to watch for is Ohlone Humane Society, which was selected as a California Nonprofit of the Year by Assemblymember Alex Lee. For over 10 years, sponsor Fremont Chevrolet has donated their sponsor float to a local nonprofit. Schaa said the float will look like a giant dalmatian, and proceed before a firetruck carrying humane society members.
The grand marshal is Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua, an Ohlone College professor and founder of the Smart Manufacturing Technology Program, who has been recognized in the Silicon Valley Business Journal for her work advancing engineering education. Tiffany Heggebo will sing the national anthem, joined by Dane Lentz with ASL interpretation.
Kathy Kimberlin, Fremont city council member and parade committee member, said the anthem is one of her favorite parts of the parade.
“When the beautiful patriotic words hit my ears, and Dane’s beautiful sign language accompanying performance was in my view, I realized I would rather be there at that moment, than any other place in the world,” said Kimberlin. “I was surrounded by a dedicated committee team and by people of many cultures and ethnicities with their hands on their heart witnessing a most beautiful rendition of our national anthem in two languages as one community.”
After the parade completes its route from the intersection of Stevenson Boulevard and Paseo Padre Parkway up Capitol Avenue, attendees can join the after party hosted by Fremont Education Foundation at the downtown event center. The party will have face painting, booths from artists and community organizations, food trucks and live entertainment.
The national anthem will kick off the event at 9:45am, with the parade starting at 10am. The afterparty runs 11am to 2pm.
Schaa said, “4th of July is one long day, even the days before it, days up to it. It’s lots of work. On the morning of, my day starts at four. We’re setting up cones, making sure everything is in place.”
He continued, “It gets tiresome, but afterwards…you go, it was so worth it. All the people there. You see everybody waving the U.S. flag, wearing red, white and blue.”
He remembered a conversation with a fellow parade volunteer, who noted, “That was a lot of work. It was only two hours long.” Jesse said, “Yeah. That’s a parade. You put in 200 hours for two hours.”
Fremont 4th of July Parade
9:45am National anthem
10am Parade Starts
Stevenson Blvd. to Capitol Ave.
fremont4th.org
After Party
11am-2pm
Downtown Event Center
3500 Capitol Ave., Fremont
fremont-education.org
