Humphries said that volunteers and
staff from the chamber will be working
this year behind the scenes at the
parade, learning the intricacies of the
many tasks and facets of organizing the
event. Next year, the chamber will take
the lead in organizing and presenting
the event.
“This parade is Americana at its
finest,” she said. “This community
always steps forward and I ampleased
that the foundation people asked us to
step in.”
Humphries said that she foresees
no big changes in the parade and her
goal is to ensure that the parade view-
ers and the participants do not notice
any difference when the chamber
organizes the event next year.
“This parade is special just the way
it is,” she said.
One inevitable change will come in
the next two years when Northville
Downs, the long-time staging area for
the parademarchers, is developed into
retail and residential space. “We'll
have to find another space for the line
up,” Humphries said, “We'll have to
adjust. Times change.”
She said that eventually the parade
route might have to change with the
loss of the use of Northville Downs
parking lot, but “it will always be down-
town.”
She mentioned that the loss of the
Northville Downs site would impact
the weekly Farmers' Market the cham-
ber organizes, too.
“The important thing for us all, the
chamber and the foundation, is to keep
the parade going. We're happy to be
part of helping it continue,” she said.
The Northville Community
Chamber of Commercewas founded in
1964 by individuals active in the busi-
ness and civic life of the community.
The purpose was to advance the area's
commercial, cultural and historical
facilities andhas about 450members.
Humphries has been at the helm of
the organization for 15 years, she said.
“What we enjoy here is the support
of the community groups working
together,” she said. “We're going to see
a seamless transition. People really
don't carewho puts on the parade, they
just all want it to continue,” she said.
“We hope they don't even notice the
change.”
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Change
from page 1
The important thing
for us all,
the chamber
and the foundation,
is to keep
the parade going.
”
