Unite in the name of independence

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey
Reader Staff

From pancake feeds to foot races, fantastic parades to fireworks, North Idaho does the Fourth of July right. Here’s a selection of some local events meant to celebrate U.S. independence in fine fashion:

Members of the color guard lead the way for the 2019 Independence Day Parade in downtown Sandpoint. Photo by Ben Olson.

Bayview

Bayview doesn’t believe in limiting America’s birthday to a single date, celebrating Bayview Daze all weekend, starting with vendors from dawn to dusk all along the marinas Friday, June  30 to Sunday, July 2. On Saturday, July 1, a parade will move through town starting at 11 a.m., featuring the Albany Falls Pipes and Drums Band as well as the North Idaho Sparklers. Saturday will also feature a fireworks display at 10 p.m. meant to honor Bill Ramsey, Gaya MacDonald and Leland Johnson. On Tuesday, July 4, the Bayview Community Center (20298 E. Perimeter Road) will host a Red, White and Blue Pancake Breakfast at 10:30 a.m.

Clark Fork

Clark Fork will host its annual “Old Fashioned 4th of July” on Tuesday, July 4, kicking off with the 5K Freedom Fun Run at the Filling Station Youth Center (108 First Ave.) at 7 a.m. Funds raised support scholarships for local students. Parade line-up begins at 8:45 a.m. on Stephen Street, and the procession will head west on U.S. Highway 200 at 9:30 a.m., turning right into the Clark Fork High School (502 N. Main St.) parking lot. The CFHS Booster Club will serve burgers and hot dogs in the schoolyard, where there will also be foot races for all ages. Activities then head to Veterans’ Memorial Park on Ninth Avenue, including turtle races and watermelon eating contests, as well as chainsaw and crosscut contests around 3 p.m. There’s also a fireworks display at the ball field after dark.

Hope

Fireworks will launch from a barge in Ellisport Bay on Lake Pend Oreille after dusk on Tuesday, July 4, and are viewable from most every piece of shoreline in Hope.

Laclede

The Laclede Community Center (24 Moore Loop Road) will host its annual Famous Pancake Breakfast on Tuesday, July 4 from 8-10 a.m., serving up blueberry flapjacks featuring berries from the local Riley Creek Blueberry Farm. Cost is $8 donation per person, with children aged 5 and under eating free. Funds support community center operations.

Priest Lake

Elkins Resort on Priest Lake (404 Elkins Road) will host a fireworks display after dusk on Tuesday, July 4.

Priest River

The Priest River Chamber of Commerce will host a fireworks show on Tuesday, July 4 at Bonner Park West (514 Railroad Ave.) starting at 10 p.m. The display promises to be the town’s biggest yet, thanks to an $8,000 donation from the Kalispel Tribe of Indians.

Sandpoint

The Sandpoint Lions Club will once again lead the way to a successful Sandpoint Independence Day on Tuesday, July 4, starting with the annual parade. This year, the kids’ parade will lead the way at 9:30 a.m., and the grand parade will begin at 10 a.m., both starting at Fifth Avenue and Church Street before going down First Avenue and then back up Cedar Street. The celebration heads to City Beach after that, where there will be food vendors, games, goodies, raffles, free popsicles and limited edition T-shirts. Just before dusk, raffle winners will be announced, and soon after, a fireworks display will begin.