LUDLOW — This year marks the 250th anniversary of Ludlow’s incorporation as a town, and what would a birthday be without a birthday party? On Saturday, June 15, the town’s 250th Semi-Quincentennial Celebration Committee is hosting an all-day celebration with a parade and picnic block party.
The parade kicks off from Ludlow High School, 500 Chapin St., at 10 a.m. and travels down Chapin Street, before turning onto East Street, ending at the War Memorial at Veteran’s Memorial Park around 1 p.m.
There will be more than 1,200 people marching in the parade, according to 250th Semi-Quincentennial Celebration Committee member and parade coordinator Bruce Durand. Several marching bands will perform along with the Ludlow High School and Baird Middle School bands, including three fife and drum bands, four string bands and pipers.
Louis “Lou” Casagrande has been chosen as the parade grand marshal. Casagrande, a lifelong Ludlow resident, was chosen based on his active participation in the community and positive impact on the town. After serving in the U.S. Army in Japan in the 1950s, Casagrande worked several jobs in the area, including for the Ludlow Recreation Department and what is now the Ludlow Community Center/Randall’s Boy’s & Girl’s Club. He became an educator and taught history and civics before becoming the Ludlow High School Guidance Director, retiring in 1995.
Casagrande is a charter member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and coached Ludlow High School baseball and little league teams at St. Mary’s, where he also taught catechism. The Lou Casagrande Baseball Tournament is named in his honor. He was the commander of the Ludlow Legion post, the Ludlow Day Camp director and was elected Ludlow Park Commissioner in the early 1990s.
Another notable Ludlow resident who will appear in the parade is Claire MacNeil, the oldest resident of Ludlow, at 104 years old.
Ludlow residents in the parade will be joined by people from Belchertown, Chicopee, Granby, Palmer, Springfield, West Springfield and Wilbraham. “This is not a Ludlow-only celebration,” said committee member Linda Collette. She encouraged people from surrounding towns to attend.
The festivities continue at the park with a picnic and block party from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. More than 20 food trucks will be available, as well as Iron Duke Brewing and Vanished Valley Brewing Company, V-1 Vodka and The Beer Guy. There will also be craft booths from more than 50 vendors, local businesses and informational booths from civic, athletic, nonprofit and church organizations. The Melha Shriners Lady Clowns, Ludlow Veterans’ Services, the Police and Fire departments and the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department will also have a presence at the picnic.
There is a non-stop array of musical acts across three stages. The acts on the main stage include Sarah the Fiddler Trio, Trailer Trash, A Ray of Elvis, Connecticut-based Bon Jovi tribute band Raise Your Hands and Lobsterz from Marz, a Grateful Dead tribute band.
On the pavilion stage, Acousticca, the Stompin’ Boots Country Line Dancing Group and Kingdom of Jones will play, while The Mummers Woodland String Band will play on the gazebo stage. The gazebo stage will also host Tom Knight’s Musical Puppet Show and Ed Popielarczyk’s Balloon Magic & Flea Circus. The children’s activities will also include carnival games and crafts. Manuel Amusements will offer rides, bounce houses and games.
There will also be a chainsaw sculpture created by Cody Stosz of Carving Custom Chainsaw and Sculpture and a cornhole tournament, along with free tips and lessons from 413 Corn Hole. In addition to marching in the parade, the 15th Massachusetts Voluntary Civil War Reenactment group will host a living history booth at the picnic. To top off the evening, there will be a fireworks display by Pyrotecnico at 9:20 p.m.
“There’s truly something for everyone,” Collette said.
Committee member Kathy Ouimette said the committee expects between 10,000 and 12,000 people to attend the parade and picnic block party. The event has been more than two years in the making, organized by committee members Collette, Durand, Ouimette, Serek Debarge, Elaine Hodgman, Denise Zrakas, Anthony Curto, Paul Chrzan, Dave Sady, Christina Yacono and Regina Stanek.
Ouimette stressed that the event would not be possible without the support of sponsors, the largest of whom are People’s Bank, the Joseph & Anna C. Dias Jr. Family Foundation, Luso Federal Credit Union, Country Bank and Pioneer Valley Financial Group. The cost of the parade was about $50,000, while the picnic cost about $62,000.
The committee is not yet done celebrating the town’s anniversary. On the weekend of Oct. 5 and 6, Veteran’s Memorial Park will be the setting for Ludlow’s Falling into Fun, a celebration of autumn with amusement rides, food trucks and games, and a “touch-a-truck” event for children to get up close and personal with large-scale vehicles. Ouimette said it will be like the picnic block party but on a smaller scale.
The committee is also sponsoring house decorating contests for Halloween and Christmas and a town beautification initiative to plant flowers around Center, Chapin and East streets.
