For one block in this NJ town, the Fourth of July parade suddenly goes silent to welcome all

✅ The route for the Pitman 4th of July parade includes a quiet zone

✅ For one block, no participant creates any extra noise

✅ It's believed to be the only parade quiet zone in NJ

PITMAN — A Gloucester County borough's Independence Day parade will be filled with patriotism in the form of bands, decorated bikes, politicians and organizations decked out in red, white and blue.

Except for one block when the festivities go silent.

The Pitman parade, which steps off at 9:55 a.m. on July 4 has a "quiet zone" where parade participants must refrain from playing any instruments or making any loud noises for a one block stretch between North Broadway and Myrtle Avenue.

It's been part of the parade since 2021, the first after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions canceled the parade, according to Mayor Michael Razze, who is also the parade chairman.

"We introduced the quiet zone primarily to allow families with children who were adverse to loud noises, whether it was as a result of autism or some other issue, to come out and enjoy a parade," he said. "It has been very well received. As we marched through with the parade, we see a number of families sitting there."

Razze said there are signs along the parade route about the quiet zone, and all participating groups are made aware of the zone. He has seen its effect on a personal level.

"My wife's cousin has a son who is autistic, and there was no way he could ever attend a parade with the loud noises. It would just be too disruptive for him. He was actually able to come to one of his first and only parades that particular year was our Santa parade because we also do it in November," Razze said.

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Not just for kids

Razze said that it's not just children who benefit from the quiet zone and would not otherwise have been able to enjoy the parade.

"We have adults in our communities suffering with PTSD and those kind of things where noise can really affect them. So this gives all of those individuals an opportunity to come out and enjoy the parade with everyone else, without having to deal with the noise of a parade," Razze said.

He believes it is New Jersey's only Independence Day parade with a quiet zone. It took a lot of discussion between the organizers of the parade and participants so they understood the concept.

"All of our parade participants have been very respectful of it. I remember that first year, one of our bands stopped playing the music but they did a drum beat just so that they could keep in rhythm," Razze said. "We actually went to him and said, 'Listen, we are really looking for there to be no noise.' And they were very agreeable."

Pitman's holiday celebration starts Thursday night with its Miss Pitman pageant, which Razze said is a "rite of passage" for many Pitman high school juniors. One of his daughters is a contestant.

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