The Epicness of 4th of July

4th of July in our town is epic.

Not Bitmoji me in a black pantsuit  holding a flag riding an eagle into fireworks epic.
But epic nonetheless.

I have an entire box of decorations and dishes.

We each have a red, white and blue wardrobe that we add to continuously. 

Monte tried to throw away an old board from the garage but I saved it, cut
and painted it for more 4th of July decorations.

McDaniel babysits a girl on our street.

They came over last week and I could tell they were bored so I gave them paint and brushes and told them to touch up the stars on our driveway.

The stars in our driveway.

I came outside to find this:

They decided to paint an entire flag in our driveway!

I talked them into making it smaller than they had originally planned.

The bear paw above the flag was a fundraiser for the football team. Our high school mascot is the Golden Bear.

They signed their work.

Around here, the 4th of July isn’t just about fireworks.

There are the fireworks downtown called Red, White and Boom that is always earlier than the 4th and kicks off the season.

There is our block party that is always the evening of the 3rd.

There are breakfast gatherings BEFORE the parade the morning of the 4th.

And then the parade, which starts at 9:00 am. 

And after the parade lunch cookouts 

and before the fireworks dinner cookouts 

and then the fireworks.

Since most of the streets are closed for block parties,

the mode of transportation is walking, 

riding bikes 

or renting a golf cart for the weekend.

It’s a very “on vacation” kinda vibe.

Monte and I just watched a special on TV about all the happenings in our city during the Independence Day holiday. Our town was highlighted for a few different reasons, one being the parade float competitions.

Each street or organization can enter a float into the parade that will be judged and announced at the fireworks in the park party later in the evening.

Oh yeah, you can rent tables in the park to watch the fireworks 

and there is a table decorating contest.

It’s quite competitive.

The float decorating, not the table decorating.

(Although, I have no idea. I’m sure there are rivalries there too.)

There is a parade theme that is announced in the spring.

There are brainstorming meetings.

And sketches. 

SOURCE:  Columbus Dispatch

Funds are allocated.

People work so hard.

SOURCE:  Columbus Dispatch

Look how the above float turned out:

And the digger part MOVED up and down!

People are secretive and protective of their floats.

One street acquired an old bus that they use 

as the base of their float each year.

A diner theme!
I love seeing what Fairfax Road comes up with each year.

It’s a beautiful thing.

And it’s been a tradition since something like 1938.

Our street participated in the float building when our girls were younger.

We even won honorable mention one year which got us a snazzy sign on our street.

Oh my goodness, was that really before Ellie was born?!
I know we did floats after that, we just didn’t win.

Some streets look like this:

SOURCE:  Columbus Dispatch
Show offs.

The parade route is about 3 miles down Northwest Boulevard.

Conveniently, it is at the end of our street so we just walk to the parade every year with chairs in hand, although we usually stand most of the time, talking and visiting with people.

Other people don’t have the luxury of that convenience, so they, starting sometimes 2 weeks before the parade, set up their chairs along the grassy area between the sidewalk and the street. Monte calls this the swail.

The city calls this theirs so it is fair game for anyone to stake a sitting area claim.

Even if it is right in front of your house.

Another reason people start setting chairs up so early.

Real estate listings on Northwest Boulevard always include 

the added amenity of being “on the parade route."

We live in a pretty safe area, so the chairs stay put except for maybe a few teenage pranks of swiping them and tossing them into a yard a few doors down.

Monte and I have always thought about rearranging them. 

Taking the chairs from across the street and switching them with the ones from the other side.

But people take the parade watching VERY seriously and I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.

And by anyone, of course, I mean Monte.

He’d be the one in the dark of the night switching chairs 

and be caught red-handed in some sort of booby trap 

and recorded for all to see on You Tube.

Speaking of…

I haven’t even gotten to the point of my post yet.

Monte and a friend decided to do something a little different during the parade this year.

But since the post set-up was far too long, 

I’ll write a separate post about that.

Stay tuned!