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Heartland Hometown Parade spotlights community groups; announcers report Ben Askren recovering after lung transplant
Summary
The 2025 Heartland Hometown Parade featured roughly 84–85 entries, local nonprofits, schools and businesses, and an on-air update that former wrestler and community figure Ben Askren underwent a bilateral lung transplant and is recovering.
The 2025 Heartland Hometown Parade in downtown Heartland drew a long procession of about 84–85 entries and dozens of community organizations, announcers said, with floats, marching bands, veteran groups and local businesses filling the route.
Announcers relayed a community update that Ben Askren, chosen as this year’s parade marshal, underwent a bilateral lung transplant in the past week and was recovering with doctors gently weaning him from a ventilator. Organizers asked viewers to keep Askren in their thoughts as he recovers.
The parade included a mix of long-standing community groups and local nonprofit services. Participants named during the broadcast included the Waukesha County combined color guard escorted by the Waukesha County Sheriff; the American Legion Auxiliary; the Heartland Community Band; Arrowhead High School athletic and arts groups; the UW marching band; the Heartland Fire Department; Blessings in the Backpack; Lake Country Free Clinic; the Heartland Area Food Pantry; and many business sponsors such as Big Fish Contracting, Culver’s, Bank59, Fox Brothers Piggly Wiggly and Floor Coverings International of Waukesha County.
Announcers also highlighted parade features and history — the Heartland Community Band’s 30th anniversary, a 1938 Ford engine and a 2017 Rosenbauer aerial platform from the fire department, and award-winning local robotics and performing-arts groups that marched or rode in the procession.
Many entries used the occasion to showcase community programs. For example, Blessings in the Backpack, which organizers said serves more than 3,400 children in Waukesha County-area programs, marched in the lineup; the Heartland Area Food Pantry was noted for its 36 years of service in the Arrowhead School District area; and the Arrowhead High School Cyber Hawks robotics team was recognized for attending the FIRST Robotics World Championship.
Organizers repeatedly thanked parade sponsors and local businesses for support and encouraged residents to consult the Village of Hartland website and the village Facebook page for event and civic updates.
The broadcast closed after the village street sweeper passed, with announcers thanking viewers for attending the weekend celebration and noting cleanup would follow.
