Severna Park Prepares For Historic Fourth Of July

The 2026 parade grand marshal is Bob Quigel, who served with the U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division during the Vietnam War.

The parade steps off from two churches, St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal and Our Shepherd Lutheran, at 10:00am on July 4.

Posted Wednesday, July 1, 2026 4:06 pm

Where To Watch The Parade

The parade steps off from two churches, St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal and Our Shepherd Lutheran, at 10:00am on July 4. After moving along Benfield Road, floats will turn onto Evergreen Road at the Severna Park High School intersection. Spectators on Evergreen Road and Riggs Avenue will see the entries go by before the final leg of the route ends at Sunrise Senior Living on Cypress Creek Road.

By Zach Sparks l zach@severnaparkvoice.com

As America celebrates 250 years of independence this Fourth of July, the festivities will look quite different than those enjoyed by the founding fathers.

Instead of salmon and turtle soup, hot dogs are the preferred choice of meal. Across the country, the occasion will be marked by military flyovers, airshows and block parties. Severna Park will celebrate as it does every year, with its annual Independence Day parade, organized by the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce.

This year’s festivities will include patriotic displays, vintage cars and other floats as participants vie for several awards: Best Overall, Most Patriotic, Most Original, Best Community, Best Nonprofit/Club and Celebrating the 250th Anniversary.

The 2026 parade grand marshal is Bob Quigel, who served with the U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division during the Vietnam War. He has a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Combat Infantry Badge from his time in the military, from 1968-1971.

As he told the Severna Park Voice last April, his time in Vietnam was filled with adventures but also the horrors of war. An encounter in November 1969 gave him a head wound and other injuries.

“I was holding an M16 machine gun when I got hit,” Quigel said. “It went through my helmet. My helmet didn’t do much.”

Quigel spends much of his time at American Legion Post 175, which often enters a float in the parade. But there are plenty of other floats to admire and activities to enjoy.

Maggy Cullman has lived in Severna Park for 45 years and has seen almost every parade. As she told the Voice last July, “It’s the way a Fourth of July parade should be – it’s small town, it’s the locals, everybody waves at their neighbor on the float. I’m on the Olde Severna Park Improvement Association and our float is outstanding every year, and we always win; sometimes Linstead wins.”

Following those remarks, Cullman and the rest of the town learned that Linstead on the Severn won Best Overall and Best Community honors for a Chessie the Sea Monster entry.

Olde Severna Park and other communities will look to reclaim those prizes and bragging rights during the holiday weekend.