IDTC July 4, 2026 Picnic Recap of Events Reported by Iris Doucette Saturday, July 4th was the IDTC’s 72nd Rally for Democracy, and also a joyous day for patriotic celebration. Our great nation’s 250th, semiquincentennial, is the anniversary of the signing of The Declaration of Independence. In the spirit of Patriotic zeal, the IDTC celebrated after the standout on Middle Green. We had unanimously agreed, by vocal affirmation, to fulfill the vision of our very-own Prof. Michael Schaaf (1). Prof. Schaaf knew only that we should gather for a picnic celebration immediately following the rally (where to meet was as yet unknown). His vision was one of ‘cake and possibly music’ as the major attractions. Major kudos to the planning committee; they orchestrated a glorious picnic to celebrate our country's birthday. Everything came off without a hitch. And thus we know the forces of good are on the side of we the people…the very sturdy, Ipswich Democrats! Huzzah! There was kind of a major near-miss that almost occurred. More about that later. Hear now as we thank the committee volunteers: Diane Young, Michael Schaaf, Maureen Power, Ingrid Miles, and Eileen T and Charlotte M, any random helpers, all bold speakers (see links to speeches below), the wonderful Richie Furreal DJ, and audience members. The stage was set, a custom-made day for our 4th of July, sunny and hot, with a refreshing light breeze. Trudging over from the sidewalk stand-out to the shelter area, surprise! There were plenty of camp chairs set out. Plenty of seating for the crowd of ~ 50.. Hot and thirsty folks gathered near the shelter area to grab slices of watermelon and cups of water. The perfect appetizer for a hot afternoon. As the crowd schmoozed, DJ Richie Furreal fired up his sound system treating us to familiar, US-proud and patriotic tunes. What a stroke of luck to meet Richie after the rally the week prior. We heard his story as follows: he was pedaling his mobile sound-system bike past our 72nd sidewalk line-up, and turning his head to read the signs, he accidentally pedaled into the curb. Then he heard his own head telling him to turn around and talk to the people. So he did, by firing up his equipment and singing karaoke renditions of old school rock and roll. He was great! Carol had the presence of mind to ask him to be our entertainer, and he was happy to commit. {You can hire him for your next event or party. His list of music styles available includes every kind of music you could ever imagine…he has a wonderful voice and huge selection of tunes to play as DJ: 978-609-4685, majorpane56@gmail.com} He deserves the plug. Up to then everything was going according to plan. But a few moments of panic arose, when word went out among us that the expectation of pizza was not going to materialize. You can imagine our dismay, having had our hopes raised. Now this is the really exciting part…people arrived on the scene, right on time, bringing us delicious long, long, substitute subs, which amazingly enough, were then cut into perfect individually-sized portions. Here is the story of what happened as told by Diane Y, whose assignment was to deliver the pizza: I had found out at 11:30 that the pizza place I had arranged with was closed. I want you all to know how much Kelly Keane contributed. I had never met her before, but when she saw me carrying things onto the Green at noon and asked if she could help, I scooped her up and kidnapped her to Market Basket. While I was driving, she was on the phone kindly getting their wonderful sub shop to make things that usually require a day's notice--deciding the menu, checking the prices, telling them we needed it *right now,* etc. That was how we got back to the green at 1:05 with actual food. If it had been left to me, we would have had potato chips, maybe dip. So my thanks to Kelly and to Rain, the compassionate and quick-working sub shop person. It was a busy time for them, and Rain made it happen. If you happen to see her in Market Basket, be effusive.It wasn't the most important thing that happened this afternoon, it was pretty darn impressive. It's a great country! Well done Diane and Kelly, and special thanks to Rain at MB. The subs were even more perfect than pizza anyway. So after having freshly made sandwiches, it was time for the promised cake to appear. Not to worry, on America’s semiquincentennial, all calories were null and void for the day. Thanks Maureen for bringing the sweet extra-chocolate cake with a light whipped cream frosting. The Statue of Liberty was emblazoned on the white icing with fireworks behind her, promoting beloved leftist sentiments, such as, ‘No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!’ So lovely…a radical cake. And to top it all off…two words: homemade cookies! The cookie creators are as yet unknown to your editor. But thank you unknown angels for bringing those delicious treats…nom nom nom. After some time to eat, relax and listen to music, many speeches were made and read. They stirred our collective fervor for our democracy’s birthday, and reminded us of the central importance of independence and freedom–especially now with ongoing threats against these principles. These texts are available to read. Thank you to all who spoke up and read so passionately. Testimonials: David Carol Sarah Stoney Irene Michael Bob(2) After the inspirational messages were heard, we were invited to sing We Are Here with Andrea Welty-Peachey of Community in Action group. She holds singing events locally, building community through the power of music. It was an uplifting, bonding experience to sing the simple phrases together. After this short program, Richie’s mic was returned to him. He kicked up the tempo a little and some of us danced, including the brave Stoney who boogied with the ladies and called out all the great slogans, eg, No Kings in America!, and Donald Trump has got to GO! We wrapped it up about 2 and Dave closed out the day with more encouraging words. This recap is mostly intended for the benefit of those who couldn’t join us that memorable day. One such person, the fabulous Ingrid, was away, but she passed along this description of her July 4th doings: Thank you to the team who carried forth the plans into reality. I was on the planning side and was out of town for the actual event; sounds like it went off not unlike a great firework show! I look forward to receiving the messages spoken at the event. We were in Boston celebrating the 4th with so many wonderful visitors as well as locals. The rain exploded like fireworks flooding and closing parts of Storrow drive and caused evacuation of the Esplanade and delay of music and fireworks to later hours; it was spectacular. We then went off to Tanglewood where a magnificent tribute to Lincoln, his youth, his hardships and his moral compass via excerpts of his speeches incorporated into the music of Philip Glass, John Williams and Aaron Copeland. The prophetic words of over 150 years ago gave warning to the possibility of the reality we now experience with this current administration. It was truly inspirational and demanded steadiness. Hope you all had a most celebratory holiday weekend! Ingrid Then magic clean-up genies appeared, and the crowd began to disperse with nothing but positive feelings and high hopes for our country. Disclaimer Section 1. Prof. Schaaf in an editorial honorific title, but perhaps real. 2. Thuotte is the correct spelling of Bob’s last name. Duly noted but unable to change before going to press.