Montpelier welcomes back crowds for July 3 celebrations

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – July third celebrations are underway in Montpelier.

Festivities Wednesday include a Family Fun Fest on the Statehouse lawn along with food trucks and music. The Montpelier Mile Road race kicks off at 6 p.m. and will be followed by the city’s Community Parade.

The events take place a week ahead of the first anniversary of last summer’s catastrophic flooding. Montpelier Mayor Jack McCullough says there’s still a lot of work to do to recover but he says Montpelier is open for business.

“I think we’ve really come a long way. And as you walk through downtown, you can see this is a vital community. There’s a way to go but we have people downtown and people love this city,” he said.

Fireworks take place at 9:30 p.m.