MONTPELIER, Vt. -
The streets closed down in the city of Montpelier Tuesday evening.
Third of July festivities kicked off on the Statehouse lawn Tuesday afternoon, and then continued in the streets with a parade.
Most of the marching in the capital city is done by politicians. Organizers say during an election year there's no need for a theme, because the politicians dominate the parade, and issue-conscious protesters vie for marching spots as well.
Main Street closed down at 3 p.m. when it was taken over by face painters, street vendors and performers until the fireworks show over the Capital Dome at 9:30 p.m.
One of the challenges of this year's celebration is of course that it fell on a weekday.
"The city and state offices-- some are still open and most of the businesses are still open-- so we have to work around their schedules. For example we have to schedule parking lots and make sure cars are out of there and make sure we have reasonable street closure requests," said Phayvanh Luekhamhan of Montpelier Alive.
Montpelier, like most state workers, will have the day off Wednesday to enjoy festivities elsewhere, but politicians, as we know, will be hard at work attending as many events as possible.
