Happy Birthday, America, a special video report
On Thursday July 4th, Alameda marked our country’s 248th birthday with the longest parade in the USA. I finally had the opportunity to meet my fellow reporters and the staff of the Alameda Post in space #67. I wish I could have ridden with them in the parade, but my assignment was to cover the entries and related activities.
I started my reporting with the annual 5K fun run. There were a ton of folks running in the race. A few brought their toddlers, and several of my folk brought along their human companions. Some chose to walk the course rather than suffer the consequences of the next day because they thought they were in good shape.
The finish was exciting, with the winner way out in front of the pack. I was there it see the first woman to cross the finish line as well as the parent who ran with a high-performance stroller. If you check out the last clip in the video above, you can see the family that was standing on the sidelines jump into the race and finish the last 50 feet in record time. They weren’t even out of breath!
For my parade coverage, I decided to group the pictures by category starting with the officials. Park Street was the place to be if you wanted to see the entrants while they were still fresh. Alamedans in the know placed their chairs along the curb the night before. I was there to cover the officials when they walked by Willow Street and Otis Drive.
There was one marching band, which I think is down from the number that used to participate. Where were Encinal and Alameda High this year? The organizers might need to do a little recruiting for next year’s parade.
Even though the parade was light on the marching band count, there was still plenty of music being played. The Encore Church folks were rockin’ it…
…and the Cinema Grill entry was ‘Despicable’ featuring a band that covered the B-52s “Love Shack.”
My category #2 was the city’s organizations both formal and informal with entries from the Cargo Bike Brigade, the horse entry (complete with pooper scooper detail), Alameda Pride, and some exotic cars. There was even a T-Rex.
Category #3 includes the businesses that entered the parade. Bay Ship and Yacht brought their giant propeller, an eight wheeled ATV was doing donuts on Park Street, and Donut Petit had a donut on top of its car. I did catch up with the Alameda Post truck for a quick wave before heading up the street to see the Trader Joe’s float. I finished off my coverage by congratulating Patrick Russi from ARPD for doing such a great job on this year’s parade.
While Thursday was a very busy day for me covering the parade, I still got all my other walks in so I could bring you a few pictures of houses that decorated for the holiday. Thanks to Tucker over on Morton Street for showing the holiday spirit.
In closing, I want to acknowledge all the misery this holiday brings to many of my species. I hope all of you survived, and for those on meds, that you enjoyed your trip.
Stay cool and be safe.
Mouf, Roving Reporter
Bear’s-Eye View of Alameda
Mouf and his human companion can be reached via [email protected]. Their stories are collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jeff-Cambra/. All photos and video by Jeff Cambra.
