Granby America 250 committee locks banner design, finalizes parade route and event leads for July celebration

The Granby America 250 Committee voted April 2 to finalize a downtown banner design and move forward with logistics for the town's 250th Independence Day celebration, confirming a parade route, event assignments and next steps for fundraising. The special meeting was held at the Granby Youth Center and was called to order by Mark Neumann, the committee chair.

On the banners item, Curt Johnson said fundraising for the banner project has reached 78 percent of the goal and that funds have been collected for 26 banners; he thanked the Granby Community Fund for its contribution. Committee member Tod Vibert moved to lock the proposed banner design and send the materials to SignPro for their design team to finalize; Holly Johnson seconded the motion and the committee voted unanimously to proceed.

The committee also reviewed parade preparations reported by Bill Di Nio. The parade is scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m. at the high school/middle school complex and will follow Route 10/202 to Salmon Brook Park. Parade organizers asked entrants to bring floats and music and to hand out giveaways by hand rather than tossing candy, noting attention to litter prevention. An online sign-up form was shared for parade units; units from surrounding towns were invited to participate. American Legion Post 182 agreed to marshal the parade.

Several other Independence Day weekend events were discussed and assigned. Mark Neumann agreed to organize the community picnic; Holly Johnson agreed to organize a lecture series. Tod Vibert said he will contact Chris Lesiak to identify a suitable location for a planned bonfire. The committee also discussed a volunteer-driven public speaking program (including readings of the Declaration of Independence), a time capsule with the Salmon Brook Historical Society planned later in the summer, and lawn signs marking houses that were present in Granby in 1776; the transcript notes that the Salmon Brook Historical Society will pay for the lawn signs.

The committee listed potential fundraising sources to pursue before the next meeting, including the Greater Together grant, state bottle-deposit ("bottle tax") revenues, and the Granby Education Foundation. The minutes instruct members to check those and other sources to close the remaining funding gap for banners and related activities.

The committee set its next regular meeting for Thursday, April 16, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. and recorded that no members of the public made comments during the public session. On a motion by Bob King, seconded by Tod Vibert, the committee voted to adjourn at 7:00 p.m. Minutes were submitted by Mark Neumann (Mark C. Neumann).