Fourth of July celebrations returned in earnest to Aspen on Monday for the first time since the pandemic hit.
In front of the Hotel Jerome, the crowd cheered—and a few booed—as a group of roughly 50 locals and visitors dressed in pink marched in the parade down Main Street in solidarity with Planned Parenthood.
Parade participants of all ages waved a mix of American flags and Pride flags, along with a giant banner that read, “We march for Planned Parenthood.”
The march was organized by several residents from throughout the valley who say they support the mission of Planned Parenthood, but do not work for the organization.
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, organizers said they hope more people will step up to support the work of the local Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains clinic in Glenwood Springs and other reproductive health care providers in the valley.
Shari Applebaum, who spends her summers in Aspen, was one of the main organizers and wore a bright pink dress and a pair of white gloves for the occasion.
“One says love and one says hate, so if anyone yells at me something mean, I’m going to put up love,” she said. “I wish our support was larger, but the United States is so divided.”
Basalt resident Ted Lee helped Applebaum and others get the word out about the parade procession.
“The most amazing thing is that we’ve got a lot of young women here and that’s really who we’re out here for today,” he said. “So it’s a wide variety of people all here to celebrate Independence Day and independence for young women.”
Thirteen-year-old Aspen Middle School student Avey O’Doherty came out with her mom and was carrying a sign that read, “My body, my business.”
“My mom is really heavy on making changes in the world that she likes to see so I came to join her on that,” O’Doherty said. “Politicians don’t get to decide what’s right for my body and what’s right for my family.”
Seattle resident Diya Reddy and her sister Tanvy Reddy, who are visiting Aspen for the summer, were originally planning to watch the Fourth of July parade from the sidelines, but decided to join in when they heard that Planned Parenthood supporters were marching together.
“We were very upset when Roe v. Wade was overturned,” Tanvy Reddy said. “We’re happy to see people who are marching for the cause.”
Governor Jared Polis signed a law into effect earlier this year aimed at protecting the right to an abortion in Colorado, but the law could be overturned by lawmakers in the future.
On the other side of the crowd, Aspen resident Jordyn McCoy carried a sign that read, “Abortion is health care.”
“I’ve been marching at different women’s marches across the country for the last five years,” she said. “I thought it would start after the first one, but here we are again.”
McCoy joined the march because Planned Parenthood’s abortion and reproductive health services have been a crucial resource in her life.
“I lived in Kentucky at the time where it was not accessible,” she said. “I’m so grateful to show up and be a part of the Colorado community where we still have access to that type of health care.”
