While hundreds of people are anticipated to show up at local Fourth of July parades set throughout Leelanau County this week, many longtime attendees are also ready to get out there to celebrate the festivities once again.
The Stan Brubaker Fourth of July parade is set to begin at noon Thursday, with parade floats, local groups, and vintage cars going from Glen Haven to Glen Arbor. Jim Dorsey will be honored as the parade’s grand marshal.
Leelanau County resident and frequent parade-goer Tom Van Pelt will be driving with the parade lineup again in his 1956 Oldsmobile Convertible known as the “Sleeping Bear Dunesmobile.” The vehicle’s rich history goes back decades. The Warnes Family of Glen Haven originally operated dune rides over the dunes of Sleeping Bear for 40 years beginning in 1934. They used different makes of cars to take visitors for rides over the dunes and along the shore. According to the National Park Service, the rides were discontinued in 1978 to halt environmental damage to the fragile dunes.
