Parades, picnics ready for Fourth

July 3, 2005

DAWN DE BUSK\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU -- The Fourth of July holiday has inspired communities throughout Mat-Su to sponsor down-home events steeped in red, white and blue and garnished with picnics, parades and games.

Independence Day events in Wasilla kick off at Iditapark, where the parade starts at 11 a.m. Monday. The theme of the patriotic occasion is "Celebrate our Future: Celebrate our Youth."

The parade route will travel down Tommy Moe Drive onto Herning Avenue, cross to Yenlo Street, turn onto Swanson Avenue, go up to Lucille Street, and then end on Nelson Avenue, where it comes full circle at Iditapark.

A community picnic follows the parade. The Sunrise Rotary will grill hot dogs, and the city will foot the bill for the picnic spread.

Other events include family-oriented games and a parade-awards presentation.

North of Wasilla, residents and visitors will line up at the Willow Trading Post for its Independence Day festivities. People with floats and other participants are urged to gather at 11 a.m., to join locals in costumes for a noon parade following a route from the trading post to the Willow Community Center.

The Willow Community Organization will provide free hamburgers and hot dogs for the barbecue.

Locals are requested to bring a side dish for the potluck at the community center. Prizes for the best floats will be presented at an awards ceremony.

The community of Hicks Creek will gather at the Hicks Creek Roadhouse, Mile 97 Glenn Hwy., for a last Fourth Of July celebration before the historic building is moved from the property, which has been purchased by the state in its quest to straighten the Glenn Highway.

Proprietors Arnie and Carol Hrncir have been hosting the Independence Day gala for seven years, to provide an event close to home for locals.

The parade begins at noon at the roadhouse. There will also be homemade ice cream and an old-fashioned potluck-style picnic. Eleven horses will be on hand for children to enjoy a ride around the premises, with the older kids guiding the reins.

In downtown Talkeetna, the parade starts at 11 a.m. Monday.

Participants and onlookers may eat at the Veterans of Foreign Wars luncheon -- the VFW will provide hamburgers and hot dogs for the feed.

"People are always more than welcome to bring side dishes and salads," VFW bartender LesLee Halla said Friday.

A few towns avoid planning activities for the national holiday so they don't detract from get-togethers scheduled in other towns.

"It's all in the spirit of cooperation. We just had our Colony Days, and we try not to compete with Wasilla," said Sandy Gaither, who is the executive director of the Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce. "You can only do so much."

As in Palmer, June is the month when Big Lake officials schedule their organized summer activities.

"We don't do any fireworks or any events on the Fourth of July," Randi Perlman, Big Lake Chamber of Commerce executive officer, said. "We're a little fire-shy up here."

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252, or dawn.debusk@frontiersman.com.