Fun runs, a parade, fireworks and rocking on the dock: San Juan Island will be abuzz with action on the Fourth of July.
FRIDAY HARBOR
Feeling energetic? Start the day off with the July 4 Firecracker 5000 Family Fun Run. This event is coordinated by San Juan Island Fitness. Registration is on the day of the race, starting at 7:30 a.m. The race begins at 8:30 a.m. and both the registration and the starting line are in front of the Best Western Friday Harbor Suites.
The run is 3.1 miles with a route that winds through Friday Harbor and finishes at Hartman Field. The cost is $10 per person and helps support the big fireworks display later that night.
The traditional Friday Harbor Fourth of July Parade begins at 10:30 a.m. It opens with the Lane 4 Barbershop Quartet’s rendition of “America.” Participants will queue up in front of M&W Auto Sales, across from Best Western Hotel.
This year’s theme is “San Juan Farmers,” a tribute to the farming community. Longtime island farmer Al Sundstrom is grand marshal.
At Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church, deacons will set up reserved seating in front of the church for seniors and those with special needs. The restroom facilities inside the church and at 395 Spring St. (house next door to the church) are handicapped accessible and will be available. Call the church office, 378-4544, with your name and number of guests needing reserved seating for the parade. Chairs with your names on them will be placed along the sidewalk. Spaces will be available for wheelchairs also.
The post-parade fun begins at the San Juan Historical Museum after the parade: the annual Kiwanis Club Pig War Picnic, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kiwanis President Tammy Cotton says this year’s picnic “will be huge.”
“We’re going to have more events this year. There will be the cake walk, egg toss, bucket brigade, three-legged race, pie-eating contest, the Soroptimists will do face painting and serve iced coffee,” Cotton says. Two local bands, the Rhythmatics and the One More Time Band, will perform. OPALCO will provide bucket rides.
Lunches are $5; the menu includes barbecued pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs with all the trimmings, coleslaw and chips. Drinks and hot fudge sundaes will also be available. There will be a beer garden too, with beer and wine for sale.
Awards for entries in the Fourth of July Parade will be announced at 1 p.m.
Rock the Dock begins at 5 p.m. at the Port of Friday Harbor. The Timebenders, of Victoria, B.C., will perform. The concert is presented by the Rotary Club.
The fireworks display in the harbor begins at 10:30 p.m., presented by the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce. The show is visible from several places on San Juan Island, including Friday Harbor and American Camp. The Lopez Island fireworks display is also visible.
ROCHE HARBOR
Roche Harbor has a full day planned for the Fourth with traditional Independence Day events and a range of music entertainment.
The children’s Fun Run starts at 9 a.m., followed by more games for children from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Polls open at 9 a.m. for the election of Roche Harbor’s honorary mayor. Results will be announced at 4:30 p.m.
The doughnut-eating contest is at 1:30 p.m. The blindfolded dinghy race begins at 3:30 p.m. The log-rolling contest begins at 4 p.m.
In the evening, there will be the judging of the boat decorating contest. The fireworks display begins at 10 p.m., ending the Fourth with a bang.
Fourth of July Notebook
Community e-mails related to the Fourth of July
— From 100 Friends of Old Island Barns: Join the 100 Friends at the Fourth of July parade — we need walkers!
We have a banner and will carry barn cutouts on sticks celebrating the island’s historic barns. Maybe we’ll even win a prize! Meet at the corner of Spring and Price at 9:40 a.m. Wear comfy walking shoes and a red shirt. Look for Diane and Boyd in their red “Have you hugged a barn today” T-shirts. Kids in wagons, parade-friendly dogs welcome. Come one come all; it will be a blast!
Please RSVP ASAP if you are going to walk for the barns: Sandy Strehlou, 378-8337.
— “Music at the Port”: OPA performs on July 4, 2-4 p.m., at Jack Fairweather Park. Part of the Port of Friday Harbor Music at the Port concert series.
— “Rock the Dock”: San Juan Island Rotary Club invites you to its eighth annual “Rock the Dock” Street Party and family fun event on July 4 on the waterfront at the main dock of Friday Harbor Marina.
Sponsored by Islanders Bank, kick-off is at 5:30 p.m. with local band “No Particular Order,” followed by, at 6:30 — all the way from Victoria, B.C., for the eighth year in a row — the ever-popular and always-smiling Timebenders!
Kids 12 and under are free. All other tickets are $10 a piece and can be purchased from any Rotary Club member or at the gate. The Lions Club will provide the food and all ticket proceeds will be used for Rotary charitable projects.
