Pawleys Island native helps create new July 4th design for 2026

It’s that time of year again! The Fourth of July on Pawleys Island means getting ready for the big patriotic parade that runs through the middle of town.

For many people, getting ready for the 60th Pawleys Island July 4th Parade, with the theme, “America 250, Pawleys Parade 60,” includes buying a commemorative T-shirt for the occasion, and the shirts are now available. The parade will start at 10 a.m. on July 4.

One of the most excited people is Jay Hope of Georgetown, whose family started the parade 60 years ago. He and artist Will Woodham worked together to create the T-shirt and poster design for this year’s parade. It celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Pawleys Island Parade and the 250th anniversary of the indepednednce of the United States.

“The design was based on the original Pawleys Island parade which started at the Cassena Inn on July 4, 1966,” said Pawleys Island Town Administrator Daniel Newquist.

Pawleys Parade T-shirts are $20 each and can be purchased now through July 4 from noon-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and from 1-4 p.m. on Sundays in the old Town Hall building, across from the current Town Hall on the North Causeway.

They can also be purchased online from June 29-July 12 for $20 plus $15 for shipping and handling. Those T-shirts will be mailed out as orders are received beginning on Monday, July 7. To purchase T-shirts online, click here.

All online T-shirt sales are shipped. They cannot be reserved for later onsite pick-up. Offsite sales will not be handled by phone.

Newquist said this year, town officials are offering two different materials for the T-shirts — regular and performance.

• Regular: The typical T-shirt which is 100 percent cotton.
  Available in all sizes.
• Performance*: The new material offers a more breathable, athletic material that is 100 percent polyester.
  * Performance shirts are currently only offered for adult S, M, L, and XL.

Hope’s family owned the historic Cassena Inn, which once stood on the north end of the island. He remembers taking part in the first ever Pawleys Island July 4^th Parade. He said working with Woodham, who also won the T-shirt design contest in 2025, was a treat.

“We wanted to bring back Will Woodham for this year’s design because he did such a great job last year,” Newquist said. “We are just thrilled that he and Jay Hope could team up to create this year’s design for the nation’s 250^th anniversary.”

Hope said the shirt symbolizes that impromptu parade 60 years ago, organized at the Cassena Inn. The innkeeper’s families, vacationers and friends came together to create a celebration to show love for Pawleys Island, the United States and its military, then serving in Vietnam.

Built by the Brinkley family in 1926, Cassena Inn served meals from its main building until it was destroyed by fire in 1986. The Cassena Inn was on the South end of Atlantic Avenue on Pawleys Island. In 1966, the Cassena Inn was owned by Hope’s grandmother, Mena Hope, and her business partner and best friend, Gladys Hiott.

The inspiration for the first parade was Col. George Meighen, married to Anne Hiott, Gladys’s daughter. Col. Meighen was leaving to lead an Army Battalion in South Korea and was bothered by protests on TV.

On a morning walk, the colonel and Nancy Leigh “BaBa” Bondurant came up with an idea that a parade should take place on July 4th. The idea was met with much enthusiasm from Mena Hope and others, and Bondurant was the first parade’s grand marshal.

Hope, who was just 7 years old at the time, has fond memories of the Cassena Inn and the parade, now an annual tradition on the island.

“The children were dressed to represent heroes of our country,” he said of that first parade. “They beamed with Revolutionary fervor, carrying flags, marching with fife and drums, and singing patriotic songs.”

Hope said the children marched behind Bondrunt’s red Ford Fairlane and “followed from Myrtle Avenue, made a left on First Street, a left on Atlantic Ave, to Pawleys Pier and back.”

He said he’s honored to be involved with this year’s parade, celebrating America’s 250th birthday.

“This is the 250^th anniversary of the Independence of the United States of America,” he said. “We want to honor America as the greatest country in the world and in the design our flag represents freedom, justice, and hope – ideals that have been part of America since its founding of our nation.”

He and Newquist urge people to attend this year’s parade.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime, a special year to celebrate our country’s 250^th and the 60^th Pawleys Island Parade,” Hope said. “Come out and wear the colors and think of something creative to show your pride. You just might win a trophy for best decorated float, golf cart, most patriotic, most historic, or best house.”

Newquist said the Pawleys July 4^th Parade is a great time every year and includes hundreds of float participants and spectators.

“Each parade adds something special to our town history and serves to connect the community,” he said.

For more information about the Pawleys Parade and other July 4th events near Pawleys Island, click here.

By Clayton Stairs / tourism manager for the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce