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Boundary County knows how to celebrate a Fourth
of July! |
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July 7, 2015 |
(Watch our special highlight video
(about 2 1/2 minutes) of
the Eastport and Bonners Ferry Fourth of July
Parades: click here).
No one can say Boundary County, Idaho doesn't
know how to put on an Independence Day
celebration.
We had it all: multiple parades, a
barbecue, family picnicking, games and
competitions, train rides, multiple
musical
performances, stirring renditions of the
national anthem and God Bless America
and Stars and Stripes Forever, a lucky
winner of a raffled fund-raiser pistol, lots of
loud, a stirring speech by an Idaho legislator,
and one of the best fireworks displays in the
Northwest (if not further).
The spotlight shown first on little Eastport,
Idaho (population: gotta be less than
100), who has sponsored a parade every year
recently. If you have never attended the
Fourth of July Parade at Eastport, we might say
it is a little different than the Bonners Ferry
Parade. The Eastport Parade is--how shall
this be said--a delightful combination of crazy
/ goofy / but marvelouly creative, that really
works.
This year, for example, the Eastport Parade
featured a boat, which happened to be filled
with sailors armed and ready to cool off the
crowd with their squirt guns (actually more like
squirt cannons). Also in the parade were a
coule of race cars, and a parade float adorned
with a bear chasing a couple of kids. And
more.
To get the full picture, make it a point to be
at the Eastport Fourth of July Parade next year.
Or, even better, come up with your own fun idea,
and be in
the Eastport Fourth of July Parade next year.
To further cement Eastport's enthusiasm for the
Fourth of July, after the parade they had a
large and well-attended community barbecue.
No charge. Just come and bring a side
dish. That's how things work in small
towns in America on the Fourth of July, right?
Bonners Ferry then took over in the evening,
opening with an a capella group singing several
patriotic songs. Then, the parade was on,
with columns of fire trucks, flashing lights,
antique automobiles, our Distinguished Young
Women, big beautiful 18 wheelers, cheerleaders,
a rider on an antique bicycle, antique tractors,
a train, and much more.
Check out the video of the Eastport and Bonners
Ferry Fourth of July Parades put together by our
companion website Boundary County Live.
You can see it by clicking here.
After the Bonners Ferry parade, and after
Rebecca Huseby had opened the evening's events
at the Fairgrounds with her rendition of the
National Anthem and an invocation, the fun began
with competitions, and more musical
presentations, including a piano performance of
The Stars and Stripes Forever by Jeff
Hunsaker, more singing from Ms. Huseby, and
Pastor Len Pine singing God Bless America.
As the skies grew darker, one of our Idaho
legislators, Heather Scott, who represents us in
the Idaho House of Representatives, gave a
speech to the assembled crowd, drawing a cheer
when she pointed out the "the United States of
America is the greatest country in the world!"
Next up, the fireworks. Many big cities
would be hard pressed to top the display that
Gary Leonard and his team puts together every
year. This year, in commemoration of
Boundary County's centennial year, there was a
special addition to the fireworks' grand finale,
as the number "100" lit up just as a huge column
of spraying, bursting, streaming fireworks
filled the air nearby.
 Happy
Birthday, America! And this year, Happy
Birthday, Boundary County, Idaho, USA!
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Take a look at our other Fourth of July story
posted on NewsBF, Our July 4th celebration:
the effort behind the scenes.
You'll find it posted on our
home page.
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