Independence Day in Claremont, California

Once again, this year and, as it seems to happen annually, the little city of Claremont held our Independence Day celebration. Packed in between early morning pancakes, sausage and coffee, and a fireworks and musical extravaganza after dark were a whole slew of events. There was the T. Willard Hunter Speakers' Corner, where people could get up before their fellow residents and talk of whatever was on their mind. There were the booths where civic organizations ranging from Museums of Art, to political clubs, to advocates for sustainability, and others for human rights could spread their word. There was music. There was dancing. There was food. There were game booths, booths of skill and chance, a juggler on a unicycle, Uncle Sam on stilts. The police were connecting with the community, as were the city leaders. There was the parade.

And once that parade began there was: the fire department, police on motorcycles, police on bikes, kids on bikes, kids on scooters, kids on skateboards, kids in wagons, adults on bikes, adults on trikes, adults on e-bikes, adults on scooters, adults pulling wagons, girl scouts, boy scouts, displays of flags, marching bands, hip-hop groups, cheer groups, baseball players, softball players, acting groups, environmental groups, sustainablility groups, pet adoption groups, people walking dogs, people carrying dogs, people being honored for their contributions to our community, to our country, to the world, government representatives of We the People, old cars, new cars, tractors, civil organizations, church organizations, cultural groups, painted faces, visitors from overseas, monkeys from the Wizard of Oz, tin men, green-skinned witches. There was red, there was white, and yes, there was blue. In fact those three colors were very prominent either singly, or as often as not, combined. Not that that should surprise anyone.

So, while Independence Day here in Claremont is mostly a day of fun, that celebration of the present is combined with remembrance of our past, and hope and planning for the future.

Big collection of photos can be found in this Flickr album.