‘Patriotic like when we were kids’: Crowds celebrate 4th of July parade’s return to Boise
For the first time since 2019, Boise’s Fourth of July parade returned to the streets of downtown with dozens of parade participants and thousands of spectators.
For years, the parade was planned by We the People, an organization created by local resident Dave Barrett and his family. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shut the event down and since then the event has been absent as the Barrett family stepped away from planning the celebration.
On Tuesday, the parade was again hosted by We the People, but the group looks different now. The Barrett family transitioned the nonprofit to a new board of directors, led by CapEd Credit Union chief marketing officer Todd Christensen.
Christensen told the Idaho Statesman in an interview that CapEd began talking with the Barretts in 2021 with the goal of bringing the patriotic celebration back to Boise. He said the new group set a goal of 50 parade entrants to gauge the community’s interest in a Fourth of July parade.
Tuesday’s parade had nearly 75 participants, from bagpipers to classic cars to choreographed escaramuza riders on horseback.
Christensen said that turnout is a “high water mark” that appeared to exceed previous years’ participation.
The parade was emceed by former Gov. Butch Otter and former First Lady Lori Otter. The parade’s grand marshals — the honorary leaders — were Dave and Emily Barrett. Christensen said organizers wanted to be sure “to express appreciation to them for the nearly 20 years of their facilitation of the event.”
Officials anticipated quite a crowd — 10,000 to 15,000 people — and said ahead of the event they received social media comments, emails and letters from community members who expressed their excitement about the parade’s return. On Tuesday morning, the streets were full before the parade even began.
Ann and Doug Brinker, who drove from Eagle to attend, said they were excited to see the parade return.
“It brings us back to our childhood,” Doug Brinker told the Statesman. “It’s patriotic like when we were kids.”
There were plenty of parade newcomers, too. Aaron and Brisa Castro came from Meridian to show visiting family a good time. Kailee Fletcher and Ally Mann, along with Fletcher’s four-month-old golden retriever, Gunner, said they had both recently moved to Boise and were excited to see the parade participants and learn more about the community.
Mann said she didn’t experience much patriotism in her last home.
“In Oregon, our country is not very celebrated so it’s fun to see the festivities,” she said.
Before Tuesday evening’s fireworks, Christensen said We the People was already looking ahead to future parades.
“In 3 years, we’ll be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,” he said. “As we plan and prepare for 2024, 2025 and ‘26, We The People has a view to that mile marker of 250 years for our country.“
