a small town parade

I love living in a small town!  Especially on the 4th of July.  This is one day of the year when most of the town turns out to watch the parade.  We line the street, and stand on roofs, cheering on our favorite floats.  Okay, truth be known, we're cheering on the parade participants hoping they'll throw candy our way!  This balcony of people were some of the rowdiest but still got their share of candy. 

As a side note, when looking for that "perfect" spot to watch the parade, there's a few things to consider.  First, if you have children, you need to find a spot right on the curb where the little kids will be able to watch unobstructed.  Next, make sure there aren't any larger kids on the viewing side of you because they will block your view, especially pre-teen boys.  And grab all the candy!  And, last, never ever stand next to beautiful teenager girls....  Yea, sure, they got their share of the candy, but often times it was thrown with more force as the teenage boys were vying for their attention.   So, location location location people!

The theme for this year was blessing our police and firemen.  Very cool, as they certainly deserve it.  A lot of floats also supported our troops. Also, very cool. 

Many of our floats are Alaskan and Philippine in nature.   The Alaskans are pretty low keyed.  The Philippians have some of the best. There's always lots of hoot and hollering going on.

And speaking of hootin and hollering.... this is our woman's roller derby team.  I didn't realize we had a roller derby team, but they sure were loud!  And definitely having a good time.  Which makes the crowd have a good time. 

I love small town parades.  The Dipstix Club (car club) bring their oldies out to display.  This one was certainly souped up!  YES, that's REAL FIRE! 

In a small town parade, you're bound to know many of the participants and they always take time to stop over your way to say hi. 

This precious little girl has her bag ready for more candy.  Grandma had to grab most of it--before the larger boys got it all!  Yea, don't mess with Grandmas! 

Sponge Bob was the biggest hit, with kids running out to hug and touch him.  Yes, I love small town parades.

Next to the Marching Band, these young men are my favorite.  They protect us, our country, our rights and freedoms.  These men are our neighbors and our friends.  God Bless America. 

They marched and greeted the crowd.  They came in their big tanks. 

Even Elvis showed up! 

Only in Juneau.  XtraTuff boots.  The mainstay of Juneau's closet.  These are the teenage girls and Ellis. 

We don't use flowers for our floats.  We use crepe paper, tree boughs, and, in this case, star stickums.  It works in a small town parade. 

The parade generally takes a couple hours.  It's always sunny on the 4th of July in Juneau.  Almost.  This morning it started out raining and by the time 11:00 arrived, it was sunny and warm.  In true 4th Spirit.

Yes, I love a small town parade.  With all its spirit and patriotism.  This restaurant was the only business waving a flag....  Not good....  Every single business should have been waving a flag. 

You know the parade is over when the garbage truck shows up all decked out in their red white and blue!  Only in Juneau is the garbage truck prettier than some of the parade participants!  Within minutes of the parade being over, there is no sign of the thousands of people that just lined the streets and the candy papers that littered the street.  Good job, Arrow! 

Yes, small town parades are THE BEST!

can it be July already

Can it be July already....?  Say it.  Today is July 1st.  It sounds odd.  I think June ended too abruptly.  There should be 31 days in that month.  Prepare us for July better.  The 1st.  The 4th.  That's it.  The 4th of July is now just right around the corner and I've not even given it a single thought yet. 

We generally watch the parade along the streets of downtown.  It's a small town parade.... no fancy floats, no floats made of flowers.  The firemen hand out salt water taffy to the kids.  There's always plenty of politicians and other groups strutting their cause.  The marching band is my favorite.  It's a good parade and everyone has fun.  I've never had a big family picnic on the 4th because there were so many other activities going on around town that we participated in. 

This year my husband will be out of town and my kids will be busy with their family.  I'll need to find something fun and crafty to keep me busy.

What are your traditions for the 4th of July?