![President Kelly stands in a Ford Bronco decorated with Eastern Michigan University logos as part of the parade, while other riders in the float wave at people gathered on the sign. One of the people in the vehicle is holding a sign that says, "EMU [hearts] Ypsi."](https://snworksceo.imgix.net/emu/091f7518-ec47-41c8-8d4e-493b0f35aa3f.sized-1000x1000.jpg?w=1000&dpr=2&ar=4%3A3&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cedges)
As fireworks soared through the air with exclaims of excitement and cheers, Ypsilanti commenced its 96th annual Fourth of July parade.
The sounds of bagpipes and police sirens led the parade down Cross Street to Depot Town on July 4, 2026, as the United States of America marked its 250th anniversary. Parade participants included community organizations, businesses, elected officials and bands. Participants in the parade waved at cheerful attendees.
Attendees rush to push a vehicle in the parade to the finish after it breaks down during the Ypsilanti Fourth of July parade, July 4, 2026.
For Ypsilanti Mayor Nicole Brown, the parade is an opportunity for her to share moments of connection with local youth where they feel valued and seen.
With a smile on her face, Brown said, “Being a participant in the parade, I love when the kids come out because they’re so excited to wave and get candy. Also, when you lock eyes with a young person, someone who didn’t think you knew them, I’m like, ‘Oh, hey!’ That makes my heart just burst because I see you, I remember you and I want them to know that, too.”
Some families attend the parade as a tradition, but for Krystie Gagnon, it was her first time attending to see her 14-year-old child playing in the parade with Lincoln High School’s band.
“I’ve thought about coming for years, but we’ve just always been like, 'We're tired, it’s probably going to be super crowded,' but this is going to be perfect,” Gagnon said. “I’m actually looking forward to seeing it all. You have the police, you have the EMS, you have the fire trucks coming through. To be able to kind of celebrate the different groups within the city itself, you have the different companies that are going to be represented, and just to be able to celebrate what the town is.”
Attendees wave as U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell rides the firetruck through Ypsilanti's Fourth of July parade, July 4, 2026.
Jef Jenkins and Jade Weber, owners of Putt-R-Round Mini Golf & Putt Arcade, have participated in the Fourth of July parade for three years now. Both appreciate the continuous love and support the community shows them.
“For me it feels like we are accepted as part of the community and I really, really enjoy this community. I only moved here permanently seven years ago, but it felt like home immediately. You are being cheered at by a crowd of wonderful people and it feels really good,” Jenkins said.
The parade helped center Jenkins' and Weber's sense of belonging when starting out with a new business, Weber said.
“It was amazing for the first year we participated as a new business, just opening, or just announcing our brick and mortar, to last year, when we had been established a little bit, the amount of kids that jumped up that, you know, either had their birthday there or we came to their place, and the level of recognition that it was us, and that people were really excited about it just kind of blew us over, it was amazing,” Weber said.
People and dogs ride on the Depot Town Cats and Dogs float through Ypsilanti during the Fourth of July parade, July 4, 2026.
Joining in on Ypsilanti’s 96th parade celebration, State Senator Mallory McMorrow was also a participant in the parade where she valued seeing the town join together.
“It feels so good. I love seeing all the kids and families. This is what this country is about 250 years in. It was us coming together, and it was so much fun to be a part of it,” McMorrow said.
Though in a time of celebration McMorrow acknowledged that there’s room for improvement.
“Look, our founders from the founding of this country said that we would form a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, for a more perfect union. So, even from the beginning, they acknowledged it wasn’t perfect, and that it is on every single one of us to make it more perfect,” McMorrow said. "We are always a work in progress, and that is what I take into the next 250: it is on us now."
After the parade, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell emphasized the importance of communities like Ypsilanti and the progress the country has made since its founding, while encouraging civic engagement.
"You are here in Ypsilanti, which is a community like so many across the country, and as we celebrate our 250th, this is where the heart of democracy is, community by community, town by town, and I am proud and I am honored to be here," Dingell said. "It is a time to reflect upon the Declaration of Independence. ... We have made progress since those days, but we are protecting our democracy for generations to come. It requires all of us to stay civically engaged and to have a vision for the future that we want to leave for the next generations."
