Saturday, July 10, 2010

Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is a pretty big deal here in Ashland.  The downtown celebration is over 100 years old!  It starts the day before the holiday with people marking their viewing spots along the parade route.  They put out their chairs and blankets.  Some even go as far as marking with duct tape.  It's crazy!

The celebration starts early on the Fourth with a run, followed by the parade and then activities, food  and entertainment in the park downtown.  Later that night is more entertainment and a spectacular fireworks display.

J & B were in the Ashland parade.  They were very excited to do this since it was their first holiday here.  Barbarian's sister was dancing in the parade with her belly dancing troupe.  They invited their children to pass out candy and flyers along the route as they danced. 

This photo is right before the parade started. Look at that crowd!

Barbarian and I lucked out and found a nice shady spot to watch from.

 
Here comes J! See the little tutu she's wearing? We made it. So cute! Okay, so she looks a little more like a Material Girl than a Belly Dancer. But she's still adorable!

 
And that hand in the middle of the photo? That would be Barbarian waving to her.

And there are the belly dancers!  Their parade entry received first place in their division!

After the parade we found some entertainment and lunch.

This band from TX was great!  I can't remember their name...

Anyone that knows me, knows I am a self-proclaimed, people watcher.  One of my favorite things about Ashland is the awesome variety of people.  If you didn't know better, you might think you were watching a music video being filmed!

These gals were one of our favorite sites that day.  These living statues would hold their position until someone tipped them.  Then they would reposition themselves.  This went on for hours!  Do you think that metallic paint on their skins is healthy or, at the very least, extremely hard to remove?!

Barbarian and I watched the fireworks from our deck.  They were beautiful! 

Can't wait for the next holiday here!

No comments:

Post a Comment