Rain Compromises Ridgewood's 4th of July Street-Lining Chairs Tradition

Heavy rains Wednesday and the potential for more rain Thursday has altered a longtime 4th of July tradition in Ridgewood - setting up chairs along the holiday parade route days and even weeks in advance.

In a post on its website Wednesday, the village asked residents to remove their chairs because of the rain:

Although we want to assure all of our residents and visitors that the parade will still go on as scheduled on Friday, we are asking for assistance. 

Due to the potential severity of the upcoming storm due to hit [Wednesday and Thursday], we are asking for the residents assistance with by securing or removing the chairs along the parade route.

Although we know it is a long standing tradition to put chairs out in advance of the parade, the Village had some serious safety concerns this year due to the storm. If we get high winds as forecasted, the chairs can become hazardous obstacles in the roadway and end up not only being destroyed, but could also become the cause of accidents. We are imploring your assistance with the securing or retrieval of your chairs and waiting to place them again once the storm has passed.

Despite its interference with the tradition, forecasts are now mostly clear for the majority of Independence Day. See all of the details on how the village will be celebrating here.