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Story last updated at 7/2/2008 - 9:44 am
Juneau readies for Fourth of July events
Celebration includes two parades, fireworks, live music and contests
The city of Juneau will spend about $30,000 this Fourth of July on fireworks and portable toilets - the same amount it spends on Mayor Bruce Botelho's annual salary.
Botelho said he thinks it is money well spent.
"(The Fourth of July) is a unifying event," Botelho said. "It is what builds the common Juneau experience."
Indeed, when it comes to celebrating the United State's independence, Juneau residents go all out.
In addition to the fireworks, there will be two parades, live music, two days of soapbox derby races, sporty dog shows, pony rides, watermelon eating contests and a whole lot more.
"We've been doing it for 110 years. We know how to put a party on," said Pat Peterson, the president of the Douglas Fourth of July Committee.
Peterson said his nonprofit committee was spending thousands of dollars on the celebration and spent hundreds of hours organizing the events. He said preparations are coming along smoothly with only a few days left before the big event.
His cross-channel counterpart said the same thing. Juneau Fourth of July parade director Jean Sztuk said her committee has a budget of about $4,000 and has spent an untold number of volunteer hours working on this year's parade.
"We like to see the citizens of Juneau enjoy a delightful parade," Sztuk said.
She added that there are about 100 entries for the Juneau parade this year, up from only four that were registered two weeks ago.
One of the floats will be a replica of a Filipino sailboat from the Filipino Community Inc., according to board member Ed Carrillo. The Filipino community has traditionally put on a big show during July Fourth celebrations. This year, it is planning on spending $500 on the float and $3,500 overall on the celebration, which includes a luncheon at the Filipino Community Hall that's open to the public.
"It's to share our gratitude to the community," Carrillo said.
Floats in the Juneau parade will be competing for a number of awards, including cash prizes for the "most Alaskan" and "most patriotic" float.
The identities of the floats' judges are being kept secret. Juneau parade committee member Kaysa Korpela said the judges were members of the U.S. Coast Guard, but added that she thought it best to keep the judges' names secret so to prevent them from being harassed by disgruntled participants who didn't win a prize.
"There have definitely been problems in the past," she said.
• Contact reporter Alan Suderman at 523-2268 or alan.suderman@juneauempire.com.
