Yesterday morning, my daughter and I headed over to Sierra Madre for the city’s annual Fourth of July Parade. We have been several times and it is a great way to commemorate Independence Day.
The parade featured lots of American flags, including this giant flag carried by more than a dozen scouts. This was just a great touch by the scouts — carrying a heavy giant flag celebrating our country’s Independence, which flag is so big it must be carried forward by a group walking together. The scouts definitely get the Theme Award.
There were plenty of funny moments but the best were the bears from the Sierra Madre City College Department of Zoology. The bear here was banging on Sierra Madre’s bear proof trash cans and leading a protest to defund the bear proof cans. Very funny stuff.
Funny stuff; but also a serious matter. Bears are a big issue in Sierra Madre (and other foothill communities). Last year the city council passed a resolution pointing to the public safety threat posed by bears and seeking assistance from the state. I don’t know what ever happened to that resolution or request, but may follow upon on that in a future post. As I’ve written before, we’ve had our own bear encounters (including the loss of chickens and other damage).
The parade had all the stuff you would typically expect in a small town 4th of July parade, such as lots of youth sports teams, some child care, a lady with butterfly wings on stilts, a fire department engine, a no-name band playing patriotic songs on kazoos, and pet services. Grand Marshall was 100 year old accordion playing Helen Reece. And, Sierra Madre, being a mountain community, also had the Search and Rescue squad walking the route with packs on their backs, which is impressive.
But, the one thing probably no other small town parade has is the skeleton of the town’s Rose Parade float being driven down the parade route. The frame above is Sierra Madre’s own, which will be designed and built by volunteers for next year’s Rose Parade. This entry from the Sierra Madre Rose Float Association is always cool to see.
Congrats to the Sierra Madre Events Committee for another successful and very well attended parade.
I don’t know Doug Hayes, but he has some very good things to say on the Sierra Madre Events Committee website. Hayes was an Events Committe member for 21 years and his account of the history of Sierra Madre’s 4th of July parade is at the site. What he says about the purpose of the parade is worth highlighting:
“The Committee is holding events, yes, we get that. But what you’re doing is sowing seeds, driving people’s roots deeper, all without them knowing it. We are making our town their home, not just a place with a bed, but a home, a place of pride and ownership. Ownership, isn’t that really the reason why we all volunteer? We seek ownership and we seek to share and inspire others to take pride and say, this is MY town! This is a town that I will take care of, and these people are MY neighbors!”
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