Locals Show Off Redlands, White and Blue

Redlands locals celebrated Independence Day with a parade and festival on the Fourth of July last Thursday at Sylvan Park. The Fourth of July committee worked all year long to ensure that the residents of Redlands had a lively celebration. Festivities boasted 40 booths and a parade featuring over 50 floats. The event has been held annually for over thirty years and is dedicated to giving the citizens a place to come and celebrate with their neighbors. “[This celebration] is to make an exceptional day for residents in the city, which is why we have all of these booths and a great selection of food and games for them to enjoy,” George Barich, an event organizer, said. The festival was packed with citizens from Redlands and surrounding communities. Live music was played by Tone Daddy, who played music from all across the spectrum including “What I Like about You” by The Romantics and “Someone like You” by Kings of Leon. Vendor booths ranged from special interest groups such as the Healthy Families group, raising awareness about GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms), to food booths serving up snow cones, tacos, tamales, burgers, nachos, and chili dogs. Clothing and accessory booths could also be found, such as the handmade jewelry found at Ildefonso Diaz’s booth, which showcased accessories made from animal bones, teeth, and an assortment of other pieces from different materials. A Redlands Tea Party booth was also present, as well as a Democratic Party booth. The parade was scheduled to run through the festival and people lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the different groups participating: Moms Across America, a group of mothers raising awareness about food that contains GMOs; Kimberly Juniors, a woman’s club centered in Redlands; bagpipe performers; cosplayers (costumed players) for a new comic series being released in the Inland Empire by local creators called “Alo and the Steamnauts;” drum corps; and step performers were just a few of the entries in the parade. The Redlands Fourth of July band was set to perform all throughout the afternoon and evening. They opened up their performances with “The Star Spangled Banner,” “America the Beautiful,” “God Bless America,” and songs from “My Fair Lady.” They also played music from “The Lion King” and the ragtime piece “Très Moutarde.” This is the band’s thirty-third season. The Fourth of July celebration will continue to be held annually for Redlands residents.