RWU Float Lands Best in Parade Honors at Bristol’s Fourth of July Celebration

BRISTOL, R.I. – Invoking the spirit of the quintessential American roadtrip in celebration of the 226^th Bristol Fourth of July Celebration, a team of 45 Orientation advisors at Roger Williams designed and built the University’s float for the 2011 edition of the famed parade – and by the end of Independence Day, the Bristol Fourth of July Committee had honored the students, the float and its “Oh, the sites that you’ll see…” theme with the prestigious Best in Parade award.

The award culminated a festive weekend for the Orientation students and the myriad other students, faculty and staff who celebrated with the Town of Bristol during the annual Fourth of July jubilee. The 45 Orientation students completed the length of the parade route along with the award-winning float, cheering on spectators and celebrating with the University’s host community.

The Fourth of July parade offered new RWU President Donald J. Farish and his wife, Maia, the chance for a very public introduction to Bristol and its residents; the couple joined the Roger Williams students on the float, decked out in the red RWU parade t-shirts designed for this year’s festivities. Also representing Roger Williams was Miss Fourth of July 2011 – Cassandra Guercia, a Bristol native and criminal justice major at RWU who will enter her sophomore year this fall.

As part of its our relationship with the Town of Bristol, Roger Williams has sponsored and participated in the annual Fourth of July celebration for decades. Since the early 1980s, the University has entered a student-designed and constructed float in the parade. The concept for this year’s float was conceived by engineering major Amy Catanese and architecture major Nathan Blinn, Orientation advisors and co-chairs of the Float Committee.