Outhouse champ back for more

Some might have considered the July 4, 2022, victory by LaRose Surveys in the Great Bristol Outhouse Race — by a toilet-paper-thin margin over a defending champion team led by prominent portable potty racing enthusiast Cam Perta — to be an upset. 

The 147th anniversary of America’s independence is almost here, and the usual slate of festivities is back to pre-pandemic levels. Plus Bristol is upping its game with a new facet to its already busy Fourth of July program. 

For anyone interested in venturing across Lake Champlain this 4th of July weekend, Fort Ticonderoga will celebrate Independence Day with special events and programs throughout the holiday weekend, July 1-4.

The outhouse races returned to Bristol’s main drag Monday morning after being run “unofficially” in a residential neighborhood for the past two years because of the pandemic.

BRISTOL — “I am incredibly nervous,” Cam Perta, 27, said. “I would love to say it’s a casual fun run race, relaxing — not the case. I am a bundle of nerves. I’ve been up since 6 a.m. Pacing, hydrating, eating some oatmeal — you name it.”Perta, an English … (read more)

About the 4thI take the 5thBecause of the 6th Yet on 2nd thoughtPerhaps I oughtDeclare the blameAnd name the names Who tweeted the tweetsWho took to the streetsRiled. Defiled. Went totally wildWho fueled the schismAs patriotismWho left for CancunWho kept … (read more)

https://youtu.be/ncxqIf0Z-yk BRISTOL — Despite dreary weather — and the tail end of a pandemic that almost canceled the event last year — the 44th annual outhouse race went on in Bristol. For the second year in a row, Kris Perlee hosted the race on Elm St … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY — “Independence Day” will take on new meaning on July 4, with the resurrection of some traditional holiday favorites following a 15-month moratorium on public celebrations due to COVID-19.One of the state’s largest July 4 parades, in Bristo … (read more)

Salisbury’s Ice Cream Social is back for the 46th year with this annual Fourth of July tradition. The 2021 version will be held at the Salisbury Church from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. However, since the church is replacing its heating system, the lower level … (read more)

BRISTOL — The 2021 Bristol Fourth of July parade may have been canceled because of COVID-19, but the town’s annual fireworks display will return this year, along with the ever popular Outhouse Race.The fireworks show will begin around 9:45 p.m. on Friday, … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY — With the coronavirus pandemic still dragging on, organizers of three big annual parades have decided to call them off again his year. American Legions in Vergennes and Middlebury have canceled their respective Memorial Day parades. Then w … (read more)

BRISTOL — Typically the Great Bristol Outhouse Race is the Grand Prix of portable potties. For good reason the Bristol Fourth of July Committee bills its annual Independence Day event as the World Championship of the competition. That reason is for 43 con … (read more)

2020 will not see a typical Fourth of July. Thanks, coronavirus. Public fireworks displays in Vergennes, Bristol and Brandon have all been called off to ensure that crowds don’t gather and potentially spread COVID-19. Likewise the street dance in Brandon … (read more)

BRISTOL — It’s official — Bristol’s wonderful Fourth of July parade and fireworks will not be held. The Bristol Fourth of July Committee was scheduled to meet Wednesday evening and, as reported by the Independent, the group decided to cancel this year’s e … (read more)

“We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and to the future.” Frederick Douglass said that in a speech he delivered on July 5, 1852, in Rochester, N.Y. As a historian, I think a lot about the past. I am trained to study it, … (read more)