Northbrook 4th of July Association.

The Northbrook 4th of July Association, Inc. became an Illinois Not-For-Profit Corporation on June 20, 1968. Since that time, Independence Day festivities have been brought to you by a group of dedicated community volunteers. The Association plans and raises tens of thousands of dollars each year to bring you a day-long event filled with fun and activities for all ages.

For many years the 4th of July parades in Northbrook were small and not well attended. In 1966, a new way to celebrate was devised and Northbrook made national news because of the way we celebrated Independence day that year.

According to a newpaper article from 1966, the parade held in 1949 drew 150 spectators - the parade of 1966 had more than 10 times that number marching.

1966 was the year that 1,000 transistor radios were carried by Park District, YMCA, scouting, civic and neighborhood groups as they stepped off at 10 am on July 4th and paraded from Greenbriar School to the Village Green. The radios were tuned into a local radio station playing patrotic music. This bandless parade drew an estimated 22,000 spectators and was planned by Kenneth Thiel, who was then the North Suburban YMCA General Secretary. The parade was featured on WMAQ-TV news with Floyd Kalber, on the national NBC Huntley Brinkley Report on July 4, 1966, and on The Today Show the following morning. The parade was such a success that it was repeated in 1967.

A fireworks program began in 1956 when the Northbrook Jaycees planned and ran the fireworks program. The 11th, and last fireworks program sponsored by the Jaycees was held in 1967.

In 1968, the Association planned the parade and took over the fireworks program.

Breakfast in the Park was added as part of the Bicentennial festivities in 1976. The breakfast has become a tradition for thousands of Northbrook families.

An ice cream social was held for the first time in 2006 in conjunction with Park Fest.

A different theme is chosen for the parade each year, and a community member or organization is chosen to act as grand marshal.

1968	Theme unknown for 1968
1969	Let's Sing Out, Sing Out For America
1970	This Land is Your Land
1971	America the Beautiful
1972	Harmony
1973	An Old Fashioned 4th
1974	It's A Small World
1975	This Land is Our Land
1976	Freedon's Way - U.S.A.
1977	On the Road to Happiness
1978	Close Encounters of the 4th
1979	Games People Play
1980	The Great Outdoors
1981	Friends and Neighbors
1982	Fun With the Red, White and Blue
1983	Salute Our Volunteers
1984	Spirit of America	Mr. & Mrs Ed Rudolph
1985	Let's Have an Old-Fashioned 4th	Dr. & Mrs. Homer O. Harvey
1986	Our Land of Liberty	Bert Pollak
1987	We the People	Daniel J. Walker
1988	. . . Of the People	David Cruickshank & Andy Gabel
1989	. . . By The People	Joe Doud
1990	Marching Into The 90s	Ken Thiel
1991	To Honor Those Who Served	Bruce Hoover, Norbert Gumbinger, and Vets
1992	Demonstrate Democracy	Dr. E. James Duffy
1993	Celebrating Freedom	Marcia Doniger
1994	Northbrook - An American Original	David Cruickshank, Andy Gabel, Herman Lorenz, Louie Werhane
1995	The Tradition Continues	Dan & Toni Walker
1996	Let Freedom Ring!	Ron Bernardi
1997	A Family 4th	Joe Doud
1998	Pride in Old Glory	Wally Kruse
1999	On to the Milennium	Judith Hughes
2000	Celebrate@Northbrook.IL.US	Ron Christensen
2001	The Fabric of Our History	Shermerville Kids - residents born in Shermerville
2002	Proud To Be An American	Park District and Library Boards
2003	Red, White & Blue Celebrates With Green & Gold	Original GBN Staff
2004	Great Traditions - A Grand Time	Northbrook Civic Foundation
2005	Northbrook Salutes Pride in America	Lona N. Louis
2006	Diversity Makes U.S. Strong	Don Hintz and Jack Coombe
2007	Honoring America's Heroes	Bernie Schmidt
2008	Red, White, Blue and Northbrook Green	Ed Harvey & John Novinson

This page is under construction - more to be added soon.