RIDGEFIELD — Temperatures soaring into the low 90s Tuesday couldn’t dampen the spirits of the thousands flocking to downtown Ridgefield for the city’s annual Fourth of July festivities.
The day’s activities included a fun run, pet and kid pre-parade, food carts offering everything from cotton candy to corn dogs, and street dancing.
With visitors coming from across Clark County, and even further afield, experienced attendees arrived early to beat the long line of traffic headed downtown.
Krista Card and mom Natalie Anderson, of Vancouver, said they arrived about an hour before the parade started to make sure they had a good spot on the parade route. Card said she chose to come to Ridgefield to celebrate Independence Day because of its small-town charm.
“I was Googling some small-town parades. I wanted to be someplace local and close and support the community,” Card said.
Like many events, Ridgefield’s Fourth of July celebrations were canceled during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The annual celebration was relaunched last year but with a noticeably smaller turnout. Marykay Lamoureaux, executive director for the Ridgefield Main Street program, said turnout for events is finally on the rise.
“I think the turnout looks great,” Lamoureaux said. “We’ve seen an increase in all of our events since 2021.”
Lamoureaux was manning a booth for the Fourth of July committee’s T-shirt fundraiser.
“The Fourth of July committee is its own separate committee, it’s not the city and it’s not a Main Street event … this is just helping fundraise,” Lamoureaux said. “The shirts have a different theme every year and they’re becoming quite the collector’s items.”
Along with food carts, dozens of artisan and vendor stalls lined Pioneer Street. Maggie McGraw was manning a booth for her daughter, Hailey Eggleston. Eggleston is a graphic designer who owns The Sticker Co.
“That’s what moms do,” McGraw said. “She’s the assistant cheer coach for the junior Spudders Cheer so she is busy over there.”
McGraw said they are not only longtime Ridgefield residents, but also a regular vendor at the Fourth of July event.
“Every year is getting better and better,” McGraw said.
While there was plenty to do, there’s no doubt the main attraction of the day was the parade. Sidewalks, walkways, and every spot of grass along Pioneer Avenue and Fourth Avenue were packed with throngs of people — many standing and others camped out in beach chairs next to an ice cooler.
Addison Fahrney of the Boy Scouts of America girls troop was among those at the start of the parade entries. Fahrney, whose pack has 15 Scouts in the girls troop and another 20 in the boys troop, said they had the honor of carrying the banner and handing out awards to parade winners. The pack was also there to help with cleanup after the parade was over.
“It’s just a service we do for our community each year. We’ve done it for a couple of years now,” she said. “It’s just our way of interacting with the community.”
This year’s parade had two Lions Club grand marshals — the husband-and-wife team of Roy and Gloria Garrison. The Garrisons have been Lions Club members for 50 years and married for 71 years. The pair had different answers about the key to a successful and long marriage.
“Just be good to each other,” Gloria Garrison said.
“Know when to say yes and keep your mouth shut if you want to say no,” Roy Garrison said.
