4th of July in SB
How was your 4th? I spent mine working.
But I'm not complaining. I got to go to the downtown parade.
Click below for the full report ....
SAN BERNARDINO -- Fourth of July in this city is a diverse celebration.
Horsebacked vaqueros took the "Best Performance" prize. Aztec dancers wowed with colorful spins and stomps to the rhythms of rattles and drums. The San Bernardino Westside Steppers, a troupe of mostly teens who synchronize drums and dance, got the crowd grooving.
"It's an emotional experience for me," said Nick Gonzalez, a community liaison for Mayor Pat Morris' office who helped organize the city's July 4th Parade. "In this community, we're all different and sometimes we get ticked off at each other, but on a day like this we can all come together."
The city's annual 4th of July Parade rolled south on E Street through downtown beginning at 5 p.m. Friday, drawing around 500 revelers.
The parade extended from Fifth and E Streets to Arrowhead Credit Union Stadium, showcasing the varied groups before a line of spectators that was dense in some spots and sparse in others.
"We're here to celebrate the country's birthday," said Ken Blackstone, a local resident who waved an American Flag with his wife and collie dog near E and Court Streets. "A lot of people have fought and sacrificed so we can do this."
Down farther south, Anna Cox of San Bernardino sat curbside and tended to a blue-streaked butterfly that found a home on her shirt. She has attended the last 19 4th of July parades, she said.
"It looks like a better turnout than last year," Cox said.
One reveler, E Street landowner Jerry Casillas, said the parade has potential to be much more.
"It's a sweet little parade, but it should be more of street fair," Casillas said.
At the southernmost point of the fair, people congregated around jump houses, vendors and a basketball hoop in front of Prestige Window Tinting.
City leaders were also conspicuous. 5th Ward Councilman Chas Kelley rode high in a red convertible.
6th Ward Councilman Rikke Van Johnson rode low in a purple Cadillac.
Mayor Morris rode in a Corvette, wore a 66ers shirt and waved an American Flag.
Three fire engines with full crews honked their horns to the crowd's delight.
"Year after year, we're always a colorful group in this town," Gonzalez said.