Seeing as how the town had shut down yesterday to prepare for the 4th of July, we figured the parade which is the highlight of the town’s celebration was not to be missed. And indeed it was quite the small town spectacle. It would seem that all 8,000 residents were decked out in red white and blue – adults and children alike. All the fishing boats were in port for what we suspect is the biggest celebration of the year. The cafés close and people haul the chairs out to the sidewalk. The fish processing plants halt and the workers take a break to come out to watch. The kids haul in a load of candy being tossed from the parade floats that is rivaled only by Halloween.
Some of the comments heard from children along the parade route:
- I LOVE Canadians. <This in response to the Prince Rupert Canada delegation that had a float>
- Look Mom, it’s the FIRE TRUCK!
- <reluctantly> Ok, I’ll share my candy.
- This is the best parade EVER. Better even than last year. And the year before that. And the year before that.
Below is a video montage assembled from the best of the 380 pictures that Melissa took. The people not decked out in red, white, and blue are probably tourists from the massive cruise ships that were in town that day.
And the fireworks at 11pm were cool too. As you will see, it was not completely dark even at 11pm for the show. Rumor has it that in Sitka they do the show the night of the 3rd of July with the idea that everyone can sleep in the next morning for the holiday itself.