Whitemarsh, PA Abruptly Cancels Fourth of July Parade Over “Security Concerns”

The Fourth of July holiday is still about 45 days away, but we're already seeing changes to the plans in one big Pennsylvania town.

Whitemarsh, PA Cancels Fourth of July Parade for 2025

Whitemarsh, PA — a community located within Montgomgery County — just announced that they are already canceling their annual Fourth of July parade. The parade, of course, was scheduled for July 4th, 2025.

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As part of the announcement local officials cited security concerns. So what exactly dose that mean?

Fourth of July Parade Canceled for "Unnecessary Risk to the Community

Township leaders decided to cancel the parade after a series of discussion about the parade would present an "unnecessary risk to the community."

There is NO specific threat to this year's event, but officials seemed to be concerned about the risk of a vehicular attack.

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They didn't name specifics, but the threat of a vehicle-racing terror attack (similar to what happened in New Orleans on New Year's Day) seems to have been on their minds.

"We can't safely have a parade and have everyone feel safe, if we don't do everything that we're looking at for this parade to eliminate any kind of vehicle incursions or anything like that," Whitemarsh's Township manager Craig McAnally said (via CBS 3 Philadelphia).

Whitemarsh Township Officials Speak Out About Fourth of July Parade Cancelation

In a statement posted to their website, they say that they evaluated the "the personnel and resources it would take to secure not only the parade route... but also the surrounding streets."

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They determined that given the the size and scope of the mile long parade, it simply didn't make sense to move forward.

"Unfortunately, the society we live in today has changed, and what people are willing to do to risk the safety and security of our communities has increased to a point that we never would have imagined," Whitemarsh Police Chief Christopher Ward said in a statement.