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Discover the heartbeat of Juneau's cultural and community landscape with 'Capital Chat.' This series explores the vibrant world of the community, arts, and dynamic cultural and social events happening in Alaska's Capital City. Tune in to 'Capital Chat' for your essential guide to the pulse of our community, where every story is an adventure and every voice matters.
Our fourth of July celebrations continue, and joining me is Maggie and Sharon from the fourth of July, parade that happens actually, this is more than a parade. This is an event that happens in Douglas. Maggie, good to see you again.
Speaker 2:Thanks having for us. Yeah. We're gonna talk about all the wonderful festivities that happen in Douglas on the second, third, and fourth.
Speaker 1:Okay. Lots to talk about, so let's run down this massive event that, we do in Douglas every year.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:So, let's start with the grand marshals. And this year, the grand marshals are the class of '66 celebrating their sixtieth reunion. And the reason they were selected is, this class has so many longtime residents that everyone will recognize somebody's name. So let me quickly go through those. Burrill, Baxter, Becker, Bellardi, Mayor Batello, Compton, Elton, Fleek, Florendo, Gamble, Susie Gregg, Wynn Greening, Barb Girton, Erv Hegra, Captain on the Ferries, Lesch, Matson, McFeeders, Mead, Mimi, Overstreet, Overstreet Park with the whale, Rogers, Jeff Rogers and his family, the Russo's from Douglas with Mike's place, Mayor Sanford, Satery, Savaco Park, down in Douglas, Sheppi, another, ferry captain, Stirrock, Todd, Thibodeaux, big family, Waddows in Douglas Forever, Wade, Weaver, Weir, Whitehead, and Zinger, just to name a few.
Speaker 3:So, you'll see us in the parade and give us a wave.
Speaker 1:You know? 200 graduates. Right? And and how how many do you anticipate? I I love the fact that, first of all, you you mentioned it in here.
Speaker 1:Their class motto was catch us if you can.
Speaker 2:I think
Speaker 1:there's some troublemakers in there.
Speaker 3:We we are troublemakers. I mean, we've had an attorney general. We've had a state senator, Elton. We've had a couple mayors, Peter Freer on the assembly.
Speaker 1:Love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Very prominent people who've done a lot for the community. Yeah.
Speaker 1:No kidding.
Speaker 3:And we're the first class over 200 at J. D. High. Wow. And a lot of these folks came from Douglas.
Speaker 1:Fantastic. Okay, Maggie. Lots to talk about, lots to enjoy. So let's run down what events are gonna happen.
Speaker 2:Okay. So we're gonna start on July 2 with the bike decorating and sidewalk chalk decorating, event, which it will be held at the Douglas Community Library parking garage underneath the library from four to 6PM. It's open to everybody. We kind of encourage the kids to come and decorate bikes, trikes, strollers, wagons, whatever, to be in the parade on the fourth, but you don't have to. You just come and have fun and join us.
Speaker 2:We have tons of decorations and just to kinda start getting into the spirit of the fourth. Sure. And we also have sidewalk chalk so the kids can decorate the sidewalk out in front of the library as well.
Speaker 1:Nice. Nice. I I wanna mention that, and we'll post a picture on our Facebook page. Thank you for the, what do you call these things?
Speaker 2:The headband?
Speaker 1:The head the headbands. Yeah.
Speaker 2:The the
Speaker 1:the fourth of July headbands and the sunglasses are pretty epic.
Speaker 2:Aren't they though? We have to get into the spirit here. You know, that's Douglas. We all do things to the extreme there.
Speaker 1:Love it. Love it. Now now for the events that are happening, because parking is a premium. You wanna get there early. If you're gonna walk through that, it's gonna be a lot easier to Yep.
Speaker 1:To just enjoy yourself and not have to stress about finding a place to park.
Speaker 2:Right? And another good thing that you can do is you can go over to Douglas in the morning and park your vehicle. We have First Student provides shuttles between Gaston, Osaik School to and the Federal Building. K. So go over to Douglas, park your vehicle, go up to the school, catch the bus over, watch the Juno parade, catch the bus back, there you are.
Speaker 2:You've already got your vehicle in Douglas, and you're set for the day.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about the Soapbox Car Show this year.
Speaker 2:Okay. So on the third, we have the Soapbox Trials, and we have a few years ago, we decided these people make these awesome soapbox cars. We wanna feature them. So we have a little soapbox car for all the people that have made their cars and then people who have made cars for the kids that don't have anyone to have their own car. So these are for everybody's use.
Speaker 2:So we have a little car show for that from five to 05:30, and then the trials will start after that. This year, we are requiring kids to wear closed toe shoes. No sandals. No Crocs. And they do have to have a guardian present to to fill out the registration forms.
Speaker 2:They can make as many trips as they want. They can pick out whatever car they want if they don't have their own. And then stroll on down to Sandy Beach where we have our community picnic.
Speaker 1:And This is by the way, the the pro the program is four pages of stuff. Just just saying it.
Speaker 2:We like to do it right over here in Douglas. So please, everybody, come on over and join us.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Alright. Let's talk about some of the food that's gonna be available from the vendors there. How about that?
Speaker 2:Okay. Well, that's on the fourth. Can we do the picnic first?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Do the picnic first. Yes. I'm getting ahead of myself.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. So on the picnic, that's by the fire the volunteer firefighters, provide the hot dogs and hamburgers. And we the committee provides the all of the sides and corn. And then Foodland provides watermelons for the watermelon eating contest.
Speaker 2:And that picnic is from six to eight in that first shelter by the parking lot. And it's open to the entire community. So please come on over, have dinner, join us, celebrate with your friends and family friends and family, and then watch the fireworks.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 2:K. And then we go on to starting on Saturday. Again, I mentioned first student provides the transportation from that's eleven to five. The Douglas parade starts at 02:00. We start lining up at 01:30 up at Gastoneau School.
Speaker 2:Okay? Everybody, all floats, everybody is welcome. Come on over. If you've spent time doing your for parade float for Juneau, come show us in Douglas. You know, you put a lot of time and effort into it.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:We want you over there.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:Okay. So then we're gonna kinda walk down the hill as the parade goes down the hill. There's a fun fest at the Douglas Community United Methodist Church. This is their eightieth year.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 2:And then so they're doing a little thing for the kids there. Donations are accepted, and all those donations go to the food bank.
Speaker 1:Fantastic.
Speaker 2:Then we have the volunteer firefighters have their annual fundraising at the fire station. They have hot dogs there. So stop by and say hey to them. Then as you continue down the feet down the street, you can make a right up the hill, and that's soapbox derby. And that's gonna go from three until everybody's done racing.
Speaker 2:And you get one shot at it, and good luck. It's from ages five to 10. Okay. So then right down on the very first field is the field events, which is the the races. So you have little two year olds running 10 yards, and then you you keep going up in age for a little bit longer distances.
Speaker 2:Then we have three legged races, sack races, and parents and all are included in those. So that's a lot of fun. Yeah. You keep walking, then you have the food court. Well, no.
Speaker 2:You're right. The bands come next. Mhmm. At the pavilion there. And we actually have another band that got added after the brochure got printed.
Speaker 2:So at 03:30, we have Phoenix a, which is a pop group from out of town. 04:15, we have the 99% band. Five fifteen is Sound Crew. Six fifteen is One Eye Open, and 07:15 is Steady Going. Then right past the bands, as you're gonna wanna have some food to sit while you listen to the bands
Speaker 1:Thank you. Get to the food.
Speaker 2:Get to the food. We have a packed food court, Alaskan Wildflower Suites, Ales Bakery, El Taco Azteca, Four Plates, Glacier Scoops, Grab n Go, Homemade Delicacies, Hot Shot Coffee Company, JB's Alaskan Sled Dog, La Caverna, and Something New. Nice. And so we have foods from hot dogs, of course, and Wow. And tacos and everything like that.
Speaker 1:Now is there any place online? Because there's there's a lot to remember here and a lot to do and a lot to plan for. So where where can I find this?
Speaker 2:Www.douglas, thenumberfour,thofjuly,.com, or the face our Facebook page, douglas fourth of July. Okay. And so then once you get your food, you wanna wander down to the beach and do the sand castle competition. And that is put on by the Southeast Alaska section of the American Institute of Architects. Try saying that.
Speaker 2:Uh-huh. And the registration is noon, and awards are at 03:30. The low tide is at 10:30 with a point five tide, and high tide is at five. So they have a pretty good opportunity to have a little bit of the beach this year.
Speaker 1:Good lord.
Speaker 2:And then when you're done with that, then you wanna work your way back up, maybe go up through the the soapbox challenge, watch the cars a little bit, and then go back up to the fire station for the make and break hose race, which is something you cannot miss. Right? It's the standard at 03:30. So there we go. And
Speaker 1:after this is over, what do you you start working on Christmas?
Speaker 2:No. Halloween. I did forget one other thing. I'm sorry. We forgot the Society for Creative Anachronism.
Speaker 2:So right across from the shelter, at Sandy Beach there in the picnic in the parking lot, They'll be providing, midi medieval. Medieval. There we go. Sword fighting and different things, and they've got great costumes, and they're a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:Okay. Kids love it. You think you forgot anything?
Speaker 2:I think that might be everything. But I do wanna do a few special shout outs.
Speaker 1:Oh, please do. Yes.
Speaker 2:So first off, the Moose Lodge took over the Soapbox Derby
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And that would have gone away without them. So they have been instrumental in that and in helping our committee with many other things. CBJ offers a grant, provides a grant to us to help fund part of this. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Joe Betts and Taku Plumbing have made donations for different events, which we totally appreciate.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:Keith does Alaska Music One. He does the bands every year for us. And we appreciate the bands as well because they just provide entertainment. Reliable transfer donated their container for us to store all of our things in every year. Tyler Rental did the porta potties and give us a great break.
Speaker 2:Capital embroidery this year. We have safety vests. So if you're looking for anybody, all of the committee members have on a bright yellow vest. Mhmm. So you can and funny headbands.
Speaker 2:And then you'll be able to see us if you have any questions or need anything. Nona Diamond does our website. So, you know, big shout out to all these people and everyone in the community because this is not something we could do by ourselves.
Speaker 1:No. I mean, you can feel appreciate it. Feel the passion you guys have for it. And and and it's evident in the in the event that you're capable of putting on for the community. Thank you for sharing it.
Speaker 1:We'll see you there. I can't wait.
Speaker 2:Thank you. And please, everybody, come to Douglas. We're here. It's two hundred and fiftieth year we're celebrating.