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Matthew Stein, President of the Freedom Fest, and his team are dialing everything up to the max to ensure this year’ s festival is one to remember. The fun starts with the Patriotic Sing event, which was introduced 36 years ago, where alumni from previous“ sings” will return to the stage. Kids who are now in high school, college, or fully grown, will sing one of the songs in what is sure to be a touching tribute to the show’ s legacy.

This year’ s Freedom Run is expanding to include participants of all skill levels. There will be a one mile and a 5K run for all ages. Runners will have more time to complete the course so that they can walk or run at their leisure without feeling rushed. There will also be more prizes for the different age groups and a very special anniversary medal.

For the parade, there will be more equestrians, more bands, and more floats than ever before. Similarly, the fireworks show will have fifty percent more fireworks than previous years, making a show that was already the biggest in Northern California even bigger.“ It’ s going to be spectacular,” Stein said.

Image by DK frames

Tying in over a hundred years of history, there will be classics like the car cruise, led by Morgan Hill’ s first fire truck acquired in 1917, and the parade will, of course, end with a new crowd favorite: free popsicles.

As big and dazzling as the festival will be, it’ s the little things that stand out the most for Stein. He grew up with a similar parade in Wisconsin, where everyone in the community got involved,

26 SUMMER 2025 Gilroy • Morgan Hill TODAY Magazine: Go. Make history... gmhtoday. com