America celebrated its 247th birthday July 4, and it was Red, White and Waves galore.An estimated 6,000-9,000 lined the Parade route as 78 float entries passed by the judges grandstand on H St, left on 3rd, right on K St. and right turn down Front Street. Indeed, it was quite a party. Grand Marshall Dale Miller courtesy photo #placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');The following floats received special recognition:Creativity: Elk Valley Casino.Crowd Pleaser: Redwood Cheer.Originality: Frank’s Refrigeration.Theme: Tolowa Di Nee Nation. Creativity Award winner Elk Valley Casino Award winner, Crowd Pleaser Redwood Cheer courtesy photo Award winner, Originality, Frank's Refrigeration courtesy photo Award winner, Theme, Tolowa Di nee Nation. courtesy photo The two day Independence Day event commenced with the tradional deck party at Beachfront Park, July 3 followed by the Parade at 10AM July 4. The 5K Fun Run started simultaneously with the Parade.After the Parade, visitors meandered over to Beachfront Park Marketplace for food and kids activities. Fireman Waterball exercise courtesy photo At 1PM, the city conducted a waterball training exercise on Front St between Crescent Fire Protection Districts firemen teams and following that event CFPD Fire Chief Kevin Carey and City Manager Eric Wier staged a Jaws of Life extraction exercise as the public looked on. Jaws of Life training. courtesy photo A big thanks to Bruce Gates of A1 Auto Salvage for donating two vehicles for the training exercise. The evening was concluded by the Lucky 7 sponsored Fireworks show from the Jetty.Happy Birthday, America. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });