July 4th Parade to be held at Old Bethpage Village Restoration

Nassau County’s 2020 July 4^th Parade will take place inside Old Bethpage Village Restoration, open to those who pre-purchase one of a limited number of e-tickets online that will reserve a socially distant parking space, enabling families to watch a parade of vintage military vehicles from the collection of the Museum of American Armor.

The gates to Old Bethpage Village Restoration, 1303 Round Swamp Roads, Old Bethpage, will open to advance ticket holders at 9:30 a.m. on July 4th and all cars must be parked by 10:15 a.m.  Various historic vehicles will drive in convoy while masked living historians from the Long Island Living History Association pass in review.  Cars will be admitted only with pre-reservation e-tickets purchased on a first come – first served basis and available for $25 by going on line at www.OBVRnassau.com.

Families will be required to stay with their vehicles, masked, and separated from other vehicles by a designated number of feet as directed by park safety personnel.

A parade of history

The Armor Museum hosts an operational collection of over forty vehicles, many of which will participate in the July 4^th parade. Vehicles expected to be in motion include the legendary Sherman tank, the mighty Hellcat, halftracks, armored cars similar to those that liberated the Nazi death camps, Vietnam era combat vehicles, and the M48 Patton tank that would have confronted Soviet armor in the disastrous event the Cold War became an open conflict.

The museum also will present operational replicas of several enemy vehicles as a dramatic reminder of the powerful forces that has faced America in its historic defense of democracy.

The museum’s July 4^th program is being supported by Squad Security, PSEG, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, Polimeni International, SUEZ Environmental, among others.

Limited number

County Parks and Recreation officials remind that only a limited number of tickets will be sold due to parking restrictions inside the park mandated by COVID-19 protocols. Reserved e-tickets for the July 4^th parade are available at www.OBVRnassau.com.

Due to the pandemic, the Museum of American Armor remains closed, along with other museums across the New York metro area, but will be prepared to open its doors with new exhibits, armor assets and displays, maintaining strict adherence to CDC protocols, when permission is granted by state and county officials.  The museum hosts over forty operational military vehicles and is unique in the New York metro region.