This year’s 4th of July celebration is special not only because it’s the 250th birthday of the United States but also because organizers from The Orinda Association are focusing on fun for children in the day-long event. Naturally there will be a parade, but residents will also be able to start the day with the return of the traditional pancake breakfast.
Flags – 42 of them – will don the railing above the Orinda plaza this year – one for each year the parade has marched through the streets of Orinda, thanks to The Orinda Association, the non-profit that has produced the parade all those years.
And this year, organizers are placing a renewed emphasis on something that has always been at the heart of the event: children.
“My primary objective is to celebrate children and center the festivities around their activities,” said Lisa Burlini, the 4th of July Chair. “I envisioned it as a return to simple, old-fashioned entertainment – free from electronics – where kids can engage with the same traditions their parents once loved, a hometown parade and a carnival serving as the community’s heartbeat.”
And that they will. Thanks to Dr. Jackie Buettner, the parade’s talent scout, this year’s parade will feature youth performers, local sports teams, and children’s groups. Particularly notable are the eight youth performers from the Prescott Circus Theatre, who will juggle and stilt walk alongside samba dancers, unicyclists, and the returning lady stilt walkers, who are fan favorites in the Orinda parade.
Additionally, this year’s T-shirt design contest winner, Claire Coffey, will ride on The Orinda Association’s float as friends and family cheer for the Del Rey fifth grader from the crowd.
To Burlini, what makes the parade unique is how “it’s a small-town feeling parade.”
This sense of community is exemplified behind the scenes. Sporting blue Orinda Association vests, more than 100 volunteers of all ages from Orinda and surrounding cities help organize the celebration each year.
Some begin work as early as 6 a.m., setting up barriers, decorating the park and plaza, and preparing for the day’s events.
“We couldn’t do it without the community volunteers,” Burlini said. “Their enthusiasm drives our work every year.”
Among the longtime volunteers is “Mr. Parade Guy” Andy Radlow, who perfects the parade’s logistics and flow. Since 2012, he has planned, arranged, and released the parade participants.
Longtime community voices also return to the microphones: Steve Harwood has served as the North Side Announcer since 1996, while Bill Cosden has been the South Side Announcer since 2006. These dedicated individuals, including Buettner, are the “all stars” who return annually to guarantee the parade’s ongoing success.
For the first time, this year the celebration begins with the Cub Scouts hosting the “Stars, Stripes and Syrup” pancake breakfast. Then, approximately 700 participants march, float and stilt-walk past an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 spectators.
Kathryn Nguyen, a member of Miramonte High School’s Latin Club, marched in last year’s parade and plans to return this year.
“I really liked handing out all the candy to the kids,” Nguyen said. “I’m excited to walk in it again this year.”
The fun doesn’t end with the parade.
After the event, a carnival will be held at the park, and Moraga will host its annual fireworks show in the evening. It will be a day of, as Burlini puts it, “wholesome fun.”
