Float builders are transforming history into colorful, sequin-filled displays for the Semiquincentennial parade

In the dull glow of the overhead Convention Center lights, Todd Marcocci and a band of craftspeople hovered over large wheeled platforms, some housing floral gazebos, others a recreation of a Pennsylvania farm. Sweat dripping from his brow, Marcocci intently drilled palm tree crowns into the base of a platform dedicated to Central and South America.

With just three days until Philadelphia’s Semiquincentennial parade, Marcocci, alongside his crew and John Shaw of Shaw Parades, is assembling 19 parade floats to commemorate the United States’ 250th birthday.

The “Salute to Independence” Semiquincentennial Parade will take place on Friday from noon to 4 p.m., along the same streets where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, a fact that Marcocci reminded himself of while he designed a historical parade.

“I told all the groups who signed on for the parade, that we’ll be lining up in the footsteps of the Founding Fathers,” Marcocci said. “We’ll walk through history.”

Philadelphia’s parade floats hope to take that same inspiration. Walking through the halls of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where float builders worked on Monday, larger-than-life recreations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Harriet Tubman awaited placement on a platform celebrating the Civil Rights movement.

The next float over was bathed in white sequins, where a giant “peace dove” sculpture accompanied by a globe would rest. A few paces over sat a 6-foot-tall Wawa smoothie and coffee cups, and right by that were multiple United States-themed layered birthday cakes marking the various anniversaries of the country.

John Shaw worked a blade saw, slicing through two-by-fours to construct the parade float frames that Marcocci and Co. were painstakingly deciding the minutiae of, such as the limits to how many American flags or sequins can be threaded through a float.

Shaw, whose parade float company has passed down through four generations, said Philly Fourth of July parades usually average seven floats. “This year it’s almost tripled,” he said. “Todd designs everything in his head, and then we collaborate back and forth to come up with the plan to actually make these ideas work.”

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker will be on board the “One Philly — A United City” float, which features a large sculpture in the shape of the number one and a butterfly and floral gazebo symbolizing the city’s commitment to a clean and green city, Marcocci said.

A Liberty Bell float will commemorate some of the Founding Fathers and Betsy Ross with an Independence Hall backdrop. Another celebrates Philadelphia Pride with prominent LGBTQ figures and pride flags on top of a vibrant rainbow platform.

“The most important thing for me is that people, whether they’re watching on TV at home across the nation or here in person, is that they see themselves in our parade,” Marcocci said of representing the diversity of America’s history.

Attendees can watch Philadelphia’s Semiquincentennial Parade this Thursday at noon, as it begins at 5th and Chestnut Streets, passing through the city’s historical landmarks such as Independence Hall before it circles City Hall and heads down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The parade will conclude with a loop around Logan Circle before it ends at Broad and Chestnut streets.

Watch the parade along its route, or gather near fan zones, with the Wawa Cheer Zone at 6th and Market streets, East Market Cheer Zone at 11th and Market streets, and the City Hall Cheer Zone on the northeast side of City Hall where a bar is available for those 21 and over.