Parade kicks off SL’s July Fourth celebration

Want to be in a parade?

Just show up.

It won’t cost a thing.

Spirit Lake’s Fourth of July parade is free to enter and anyone who doesn’t prefer to watch from the side of the road is welcome to join in, said parade organizer Joy Porter.

The parade, which begins at 11 a.m. Friday, is the kickoff to the town’s Centennial Fourth of July celebration. In honor of Spirit Lake’s 100th birthday, Porter said, parade participants are encouraged to dress in the fashions of the early 1900s.

But again, that’s a suggestion, not a rule. The only real rule is: No horses are allowed.

Lineup for the parade is at 10:30 behind Spirit Lake Elementary. From there, the parade will follow Fourth Avenue to Adams to Park to Washington to Third to Maine Street and back to Fourth.

Food and craft vendors will be set up all day long at Spirit Lake’s City Park. Booth space is still available by calling Verla Reed at 623-2275.

A Centennial fireworks display – twice the size of the usual one – is set to begin at 10 p.m. at the East Jefferson Ballpark at the intersection of 10th and Jefferson. Porter said spectators can view the fireworks from their cars or bring their own lawn chairs for open-air enjoyment.

PF fireworks a first

The City of Post Falls is holding its own fireworks show for the first time Friday.

Festivities begin in the afternoon with food vendors and kids’ activities at Q’emiln park starting at 1 p.m. Live music with Somebody’s Hero is planned from 2 to 5 p.m.

Entertainers from Post Falls’ sister city – Herborn, Germany – will play from 6 p.m. until dusk, when the first fireworks will light up the night sky over the Spokane River.

Bayview gets its queen

The first Miss Bayview competition is turning out not to be much of a competition, according to pageant organizer Ralph Jones.

Contender Vickie Richardson, who’s been wooing constituents for weeks dressed as a character of Little House on the Prairie, is the only woman who has signed up for the contest. A winner will be announced Sunday at the culmination of Bayview Daze.

Jones said it’s not too late for women – all ages are welcome – to sign themselves up for the contest. Entrants are judged on their outfit, an essay, participation in the street parade and by the amount of donations they gather for the big fireworks show.

Richardson, of course, has a head start on the money collecting.

Bayview Daze begins Friday with a street bazaar from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Jones said 75 vendors signed up, making this year’s bazaar twice as big as last year’s. The bazaar continues all day Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Live music begins at 9 p.m. at JD’s Bar (Wyzer) and the Captain’s Wheel (Comfort Zone) and will run until 1 a.m.

Community members are encouraged to light their own “safe and sane” fireworks beginning at dusk Friday.

Saturday’s events include a daylong Kids’ Fair, a street parade at 11 a.m. on Main Street and a Show and Shine Car Show at noon on the lawn of the Scenic Motel.

Local favorites, The Bells, will play music from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Captain’s Wheel’s outside stage. A lighted boat parade on the water starts at 9 p.m.

At that time, the live music at The Captain’s Wheel will move inside the bar, with Too Slim and the Taildraggers taking the stage.

Fireworks begin at 10 p.m. over the bay.

Boat parade awards will be handed out at noon Sunday at Ralph’s Coffee House, followed by the crowning of the Queen of Bayview.

For information, call 683-2218.