Big Birthday Bash in Otis: America Turns 250!
By Sandy Balayan
July 2026
Planning is underway for a Big Bash on Saturday, August 8, at the Izaak Walton Field. The celebration promises to be the biggest birthday party you’ll ever attend! Otis AMVETS Chapter 77 will be sponsoring this event with a host of community members volunteering their time. This is a time the community can celebrate together and have a chance to meet many of our local veterans.
The party kicks off at 12 noon with a Wave Parade around town. Anyone can enjoy the festivities and join the veterans in the parking lot of the Knox Trail Inn at 11:30 AM to take part. People are encouraged to decorate their cars in patriotic themes and dress in period costumes. There will be a $100 prize for the best decorated car and an additional $100 prize for the best period costume.
Grand Marshall Lenny Alexander, who celebrated his own milestone 100th birthday this year, will lead the Wave Parade, which will include firetrucks and hopefully a lot of townspeople’s cars. The route will be: Knox Trail parking lot to Reservoir Road, to Pine Road to Kibbee Road to Tolland Road, and back up West Shore Road. Then left on Route 23 to the center of town and right on Route 8 to Izaak Walton. Please join them by lining the streets and waving flags or your hands to acknowledge our veterans and townspeople.
At the Izaak Walton Field, following the Wave Parade, Matt Gamelli sings the national anthem, and the flag is raised to start the party. And oh, what a party it will be! Fred and Wendy Lampro will be arriving about 4 am to start what will be the culinary star of the show, a slow-roasted pig. Fred has displayed his talent for this endeavor over 300 times for many good causes over the years. The committee will be supplying the rest of the food. The meal will include roasted pig, coleslaw, baked beans, pasta salad, potato salad, cornbread, and rolls. Hamburgers and hot dogs will be on the grill. Dessert and bottled water will also be provided.
The afternoon promises to be full of family fun. At 1 pm, Tom Ragusa, coauthor of a comprehensive history of the Knox Trail, Ye Trodden Path, will discuss the history of Otis and the role Otis played in the war. You can count on patriotic and popular music by Kellioke, our MC for the day, from 1-3 pm, and the band Soular Eclipse, who will play from 3:30 – 5:30 pm. There will be commemorative hats and T-shirts for sale, and kids will be given flags, temporary tattoos, and painted faces. There will be family fun and games with a colonial flair. And, adults are allowed to BYOB as permission has been granted by the Town of Otis.
The highlight of the day will be the raffle of an updated 1776 musket with all modern technology. The description of the Traditions Buckstalker is: Cerakote stainless steel, 209 ignition, 50 caliber, speed breech, 3-9 x 40 scope package. There will be a total of 150 tickets sold. Call Tom Soules at (413) 429-1119 for tickets -- $25 each or 5 tickets for $100. The drawing will take place at the party.
Please join your fellow townspeople for this community-wide event. You are not going to want to miss this very special day. If you wish to volunteer or donate to the AMVETS’ great effort, call Tom Soules at (413) 429-1119. Thanks go out to Tom for chairing this special celebration for our great country. And a special thank you to all our local veterans. See you all there!