Press Release
The 2016 MTA 4th of July Parade, sponsored by the City of Wasilla and MTA and hosted by the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce, was held in downtown Wasilla on Monday morning. Our grand marshal was Senator Lisa Murkowski, who was driven through the route in a beautiful Mustang convertible provided by Magnum Motors. It is estimated that nearly 7,000 people were present to witness this Independence Day celebration.
Wasilla is well-known for having a wonderful celebration for the 4th of July with a combination of the Independence Day parade followed by the mayor’s community picnic afterwards. The fireworks held at 8:30pm were nothing short of spectacular, and fun was had by all in attendance. The weekend – the Wasilla Summerfest was held at the Menard Sports Center and there were several opportunities to enjoy a baseball game with our local Mat-Su Miners. This year’s festivities offered many memorable and enjoyable experiences for the whole family.
The parade offered 75 different entries including floats from local businesses, elected officials, churches, schools, military representatives and more. The Mat-Su Sertoma Club provided the judges for the parade, and our emcee announcers were Garry Forrester, Executive Director and Dave Nufer, Artistic Director from Valley Performing Arts. There were a multitude of volunteers who gathered together on this holiday to make this parade possible for Wasilla and both the staff and Board of Directors with the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce sincerely appreciate their contribution to this event.
Our winners for this year were as follows:
Overall:
The Grape Tap
Theme- “Land of the Free, Home of the Warriors”
First Place: Good Shepard Lutheran Church
Second Place: Frontline Mission
Third Place: Church on the Rock
Vehicle:
First Place: Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry
Second Place: Mat-Su Food Bank
Third Place: Janssen’s Mat-Su Funeral Home
General:
First Place: Sonya’s Studio of Dance
Second Place: Wasilla Area Seniors
Third Place: AmVet Post 9
Your local Chamber of Commerce wishes to thank all of you for attending the 2016 4th of July Parade and look forward to seeing you in the parade or on the parade route in 2017!
Kristina Nevenzel, Interim Executive Director - Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce
376-1299 415 E Railroad Ave, Wasilla Alaska 99654 www.wasillachamber.org