Proposal Brings Multiple Celebrations at Bar Harbor's Fourth of July Parade
BAR HARBOR—Spectators tend to cheer during the Bar Harbor parade. They applaud for goofy hijinks, a rollerblading teen leaping over his friends. They scream for Timber Tina and her crew as they saw and chop through Maine trees, high up on a flatbed. Smoky the Bear is a celebrity. The Acadia National Park superintendent and anyone dressed as a lobster become rockstars.
But this Fourth of July parade, organized by the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, inspired a different set of cheers on lower Main Street.
That’s because Larry Palumbo went down on one knee and proposed to his love, Barbara “Bella” Dillon.
The parade paused. Larry waited. The crowd waited. And a celebration ensued. And everyone who loved these two people hugged and cried and cheered. Strangers wiped tears from their eyes. Children asked what was happening.
“Oh,” one little boy, taking a break from perusing all the candy he’d collected, whispered, “that is so sweetie.”
Barbara grew up on MDI, but lives in Florida now. So does Larry. But every single year Barbara comes back to Bar Harbor for the Fourth of July.
It’s her favorite holiday.
It’s probably even more special now.
Mount Desert Nursing Association and Acadia Towing unfurled a banner where Larry proposed. Then, he went down on one knee.
In case you were wondering, Bella said yes. There were tears and hugs and joy.
And it was a celebration of a community coming together and helping build a story—not of independence—but of love.
A QUICK NOTE FROM US: We’ve uploaded a bunch of Fourth of July photos to Facebook and you can check them out here, and if you look at the entire page, you’ll see a ton more. We’ll be back to regular news and have another official Fourth of July story tomorrow, but this is so lovely, we wanted you all to hear and celebrate, too, today.
Best of wishes to Bella and Larry and to everyone who celebrates love and community.
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