{"id":51202,"date":"2017-06-27T16:23:19","date_gmt":"2017-06-27T23:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/?p=51202"},"modified":"2017-06-27T16:23:19","modified_gmt":"2017-06-27T23:23:19","slug":"idyllwilds-fourth-of-july-wholesome-small-town-americana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/2017\/06\/27\/idyllwilds-fourth-of-july-wholesome-small-town-americana\/","title":{"rendered":"Idyllwild\u2019s Fourth of July: Wholesome, small-town Americana"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The University of California, Riverside Pipe Band returns after a one-year hiatus to highlight the Idyllwild Independence Day Parade \u2014 for what is a parade without a band? And now, the always thrilling sound of bagpipes and drums will echo throughout the downtown village core as the parade makes its way down North Circle.
Photo by Cheryl Bayse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s not big, it\u2019s not boisterous, it\u2019s not ostentatious. It\u2019s small-town America at its most wholesome and charming. That is Idyllwild\u2019s iconic Independence Day Parade, now in its 52nd year and 15th year of Idyllwild Rotary sponsorship.<\/span><\/p>\n

New Hill residents, unless irredeemably sophisticated, will thrill to a taste of what celebrating American Independence Day was like for years in small towns all over the country. In Idyllwild, the Fourth of July is a Norman Rockwell painting of small-town friendliness and openness that is fading in urban America but is very much alive here.<\/span><\/p>\n

You know the members of the Honor Guard, your neighbors on home-designed floats and Dr. Chip Schelly on stilts as Uncle Sam. You even recognize your neighbors\u2019 dogs dressed in red, white and blue. And, of course, there\u2019s Idyllwild\u2019s mayor, smiling from the back of his truck. And for those who may not be aware, the mayor has four legs, and he does, in fact, smile.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year, Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff is the grand marshal, sharing the honors with Capt. Leonard Purvis, commander of the Hemet Valley Sheriff\u2019s station that serves the Hill. That is an important nod by Sniff and Purvis to the importance of Idyllwild to the county as its only alpine community and its only historic district in the unincorporated areas. <\/span><\/p>\n

The parade starts at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 4, from Fern Valley Corners and proceeds in leisurely fashion down North Circle Drive to the town square. It\u2019s led by the American Legion Post 800 Honor Guard. Along the way, at three different locations along the parade route, Navy Vet Cid Castillo will play the National Anthem on his trumpet. Rotary Parade Chair Chuck Weisbart said this year\u2019s parade will have a band \u2014 with the return of the much admired U.C. Riverside Pipe Band. On display as they are each year are a number of off-Hill car clubs: the Valley Cruisers, the Hemet Jeep Club and the Palm Springs Corvette Club. <\/span><\/p>\n

Weisbart cautioned that there will be barricades in place before the parade to keep the formation streets, as well as North Circle, clear of traffic. Weisbart said traffic would be clearly rerouted for those intending to get to Humber Park. <\/span><\/p>\n

Road closures will go into effect at 9 a.m. All road closures are for traffic headed up toward Fern Valley Corners from Highway 243 via:<\/span><\/p>\n