HELENA — Hundreds gathered in Helena’s Centennial Park on Thursday to celebrate Independence Day and Old Glory.
This is the fifth year for the Centennial Park Celebration, and it featured the changing of the large American flag that has become a Helena landmark.
The celebration included a flyover by the Navy Reserve, where sailors carried the flag from the chopper toward the Old Glory monument. There was also live music with free hot dogs, root beer floats and two inflatable bounce houses for kids.
Chuck Butler, Helena ambassador and Old Glory committee member, said: “The flag is something very special to me and everybody here. And it means a lot, and what it really means to me is freedom […] freedom to be here and to enjoy the company of our friends and our neighbors in the United States of America.”
Butler told MTN that six years ago, he sat down with some friends at breakfast and thought of how Helena needed a bigger celebration for Independence Day.
Lewis and Clark County resident and 24-year-old student at Carroll College, Bryce Thomas, spoke candidly about his presence at the celebration.
“Well, it’s a beautiful day out, and I think it’s a lovely time for everyone to come in the celebration of America,” said Thomas.
-Reported by Christine Sullivan/MTN News
