Celebrate the Fourth of July Near Ballard!
Photo by Marywit. Thank you for sharing Mary! Be sure to check out her Photostream.
The Fourth of July is probably one of my favorite holidays. I love the food, fireworks, parades, parties, and the celebration. It is just a joyous occasion. Oh yeah…and you get to play with fire. Yes the pyro has just revealed himself. I try to suppress it but it just comes out especially on the Fourth.
My best memory of the 4th is going to the Johnson parade near Pullman with my girlfriend, Ellen (now my wife) to see where she grew up and spend time with her family. We went to this dirt road where everyone knew each other. It was like a big family reunion. Then the parade started with a tractor and a flag. Then another tractor and another. Then a pig, then a goat then a cow and another tractor. No bands, no floats, no convertibles, just tractors and animals. As I looked down the road to where the parade was going I noticed they were all coming back. I asked Ellen, “what is going on?” She said “It is a dead end down there so they have to turn around.” So we had to watch the parade all over again. I always thought that “if you’ve seen one pig you have seen them all” but according to eastern Washington folk “if you seen one side you got to see the other”. It was the most comical event I have ever been to and I have never let my wife forget that great day. I have not been back since but I wonder if they got smart enough to pick another street. 
With that being said, because Seattle has a huge celebration on Lake Union, Ballard doesn’t have any July 4th celebrations. Many neighborhoods have their own traditions, though. For example Blue Ridge and Olympic Manor have a party and a kid parade to entertain all the families who live in the area; and the Ballard locks is having the Seattle Civic Band play a concert.
But if you are looking for a big parade to go to I would suggest two that are excellent. The first one is in Edmonds. It starts at noon and it sure gives a great hometown celebration. We have gone to this parade for the past couple of years. It is easy to get to and not a lot of travel. If you like crowds I would suggest situating yourself on 5th Ave. The next is my favorite and that is the Oak Harbor parade. Home town feel, thunderous fly-over of Navy aircraft to kick off the parade and military style pride. This is what 4th of July is all about.
To see all the events in the area, Kiro has a great website to highlight all the cities festivities. So there you have it. Check out all your options and be sure to go to at least one of them. It will help you celebrate this great country. Have a happy and safe 4th of July!
