Rotary Club in NQID: That Dam Float
June 8, 2026 | By Gwenna Peters
This year’s theme for Waterbury’s Not Quite Independence Day celebration – a.k.a. NQID – is “American Time Machine,” meant to reflect on our country’s past, present, and future to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday.
Many groups are planning entries to the June 27 parade celebrating a particular event or era in history.
Parade organizers are planning for the parade lineup to be a time machine of Waterbury history.
While the Waterbury Rotary Club organizes the annual NQID festivities, it also has its own parade float.
This year, the Rotary Club has chosen 1936 as the theme for its parade entry because of three events that were significant in Waterbury that year:
The Waterbury Rotary Club was founded on December 7, 1936. The club this year celebrates 90 years of providing services in the Waterbury community.
Construction on the Waterbury Dam (completed in 1938) was in full swing in 1936.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Waterbury on August 1, 1936, to inspect the massive Waterbury Dam project.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (left rear in the car) visits Waterbury to inspect construction progress on the Waterbury Dam, Aug. 1, 1936. Waterbury Historical Society photo
Workers lay stone on the Waterbury Dam. Construction took from 1934-38. Waterbury Historical Society photo
These historical elements will be featured in the Rotary’s parade entry, including a large replica of the Waterbury Dam. Members also plan to hand out candy that would have existed in the 1930s.
This is just one example of how our local and national history can inspire a concept for your entry in the parade.
As always, parade awards will be announced at Rusty Parker Memorial Park following the parade. There will be awards for best overall entry, best use of the theme, best kids’ entry, most patriotic, most fun, and the best antique vehicle.
The NQID celebration will be held on Saturday, June 27. Food and beverage concessions open at 3 p.m. at Rusty Parker Park. The Green Mountain Mile footrace begins at 3:45 p.m. from the Ice Center, with the parade immediately following at 4 p.m.
Food, kids’ activities, a dunk tank with local luminaries, and live music by the Dave Keller Band will take place in the park afterwards; fireworks are planned for dusk.
Find out more about NQID, the parade rules, theme and how to enter a float, as well as a link to the Green Mountain Mile entry form on the Waterbury Rotary Club’s website.
Duxbury resident Gwenna Peters is a Rotary Club member volunteer for NQID.