Organizers excited about upcoming holiday parade

WASILLA — The Wasilla Fourth of July parade looks to be amazing again this year. This year is a very political year, a lot of floats will be made by local political groups. Also making floats this year will be local church groups, military groups, schools, and non-profit organizations. This is a fun way to get to know your local community and what it has to offer.

Lyn Carden, C.E.O. of the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce, said she’s seen the parade grow a lot during her seven years leading the chamber. She said this year looks to be no exception.

“I think the main thing about the city of Wasilla parade is that it’s an annual event,” she said. “We are the largest parade in the Mat-Su Valley held on the Fourth of July.”

Each year the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce chooses local citizens to honor as the parade’s “Grand Marshal.” This year’s Grand Marshals are Jane Soeten, Barbara Shew and Lois M. Wier.

Soeten is an 86-year-old, three-time National Senior Olympic Gold Medalist and is up for the Congressional Gold Medal for her time of service with the Civil Air Patrol.

Shew is Senior Olympic Medalist in the shooting events and also served in the Vietnam war as a Corpsman.

And Wier is a longtime Wasilla resident who homesteaded Alaska with two small children and her husband in 1959, also known locally for receiving the Red Lantern award for the Wasilla Area Seniors Inc. Walk-Run-Roll event the last two years.

The parade in and of itself is a vast and varied sample of the Mat-Su Valley. It begins at 11 a.m., July 4 and will follow the same route as last year. The parade will be followed by the Mayor’s Picnic at the Iditapark Honor Garden in Wasilla off Nelson Road, next to Wonderland Park. There will be hot dogs grilled by the Sunrise Rotary Club, and there will be kids’ activities and games provided by the Hatcher Pass Baptist Association. Also, there will be vendors available selling snow cones, pony wheel rides, etc.

A highlight of the Mayor’s Picnic this year will be the live music performed by the Palmer band “Break Up” from 1 to 3 p.m. Break Up has performed around the Valley at venues such as the Moosehead Saloon or the Palmer Bar in downtown Palmer, and in remote Copper Center and beyond.

Bring a blanket and find a spot on the grass in the Iditapark in Wasilla for the fireworks display, set to begin at 11:45 p.m.

This amazing fireworks display will be put on in part by Gorilla Fireworks as well as Aurora Pyrotechnics.

Deadline to enter a float in this year’s parade is 5 p.m., July 2. This year’s check-in location has moved to the corner of Weber and Nelson in Wasilla.

For more information, or to download an application, visit bit.ly/1kAtTBQ.