4th of July Parade

I really don't remember the exact order of parade floats or bands or anything, and I didn't bring a notebook with me to catalog them because that definitely would have detracted from a community experience for me. So, what I write isn't going to be an exact synopsis but rather an account of the things I thought were the most memberable. I'll make it a point to mention here that my family has been attending the Provo Freedom Festival 4th of July Parade for as long as I can remember and will probably keep attending for quite some time. I really look forward to it, so my opinion might be a little skewed. Probably some people find parades quite boring, but I like them even when they don't throw the candy far enough for the people in the back to receive any of the bounty.

The conditions of the parade were fairly good, other than the fact that it ironically rained. Actually, from my perspective that was not really a bad thing at all because is my favorite kind of weather and it served to reduce the temperature partially. I can't imagine the actual participants were all that thrilled by the occurrence though. My family always has a most comfortable viewing point of the parade; not too far from the start so that we can beat the rush of traffic when the parade ends. We put up sheets on the fence to the east of us so that we have shade and then set our chairs against said fence. The only drawback of our positioning is that there happens to be a sidewalk right in front of it. People are constantly walking past and blocking our view, but then again nothing moves too fast in a parade, so we have plenty of chances to view the "performers." Another problem with our spot this year was that some people stood right in front of us so we ended up standing most of the parade in spite of the fact that we had perfectly good chairs available to sit in.

One of the best parts for me was being at the event with my family. I went to Singin' in the Rain by myself, so the parade had a better atmosphere in that regard. My little brother plays the trumpet in the Pleasant Grove High School marching band and marched in the very front row. This is his freshman year and the first parade I've seen him in, so that was a really neat part of the experience. I was able to cheer for the BYU parade entries even louder this year and was told "Hey Mary, you go to school there now," about five times. It really was different than when I was just a BYU hopeful.

I've always loved to watch the horse entries, including such things as the Clydesdales, the hearse, and the mounties, or whatever the officers that ride the horses are called. The floats that carry the royalty are pretty nifty as well, and I have to wonder if coming up with a creative float theme was part of the contest and if not, who did come up with them? I like the George Q. cannon and the revolutionary and other war-dressed people who remind me of the many different conflicts that have been passed through to make this country free. Of course, one of the crowd favorites was the marching of the missionaries. Not only is it unique but it is really inspiring. It was a most excellent parade.