Once a year Morgan Hill gets to strut its stuff and the show the world how the Fourth of July should be celebrated, from parade to fireworks. This community has had 140 opportunities to get it right and I think you can safely say that they have done just that, and it continues to get better.
I only recently started attending the parade because I’m not normally a huge fan of crowds. Much of our community shows up and we draw thousands of families from outside of Morgan Hill, many of whom have adopted our parade as theirs too. I’ve come to appreciate this crowd now.
But the celebration really starts on July 3 with the Patriotic Sing and the Family Street Dance.
I attended the Family Street Dance and I can tell you that moving it back downtown this year added a lot of effort for the Independence Day Celebration crew, but it was worthwhile. Just about every type of person could be seen strolling the streets having a good time. There was lots of energy with the music and the buzz of the crowd yet it was so calm that security had a relaxing evening.
This year I was offered a seat in the parade on the Leadership Morgan Hill float and accepted. The parade was a lot of fun from this perspective.
First thing you notice is that there are a lot of people watching this parade. Next thing you notice is everyone huddles around every bit of shade available or tries to make some, with lots of parasols and pop-up canopies.
If I were a business trying to do some advertising I would hand out those little fans that everyone seemed to be using as we rolled by (note to self: bring fan next year…).
Another thing I noticed is that anyone with a home on the parade route probably just acquired a few dozen new friends. So many homes were having their own private parties that staying seated on the float was a challenge at times. Liquid refreshments seemed to be flowing and likely contributed to the many smiles to be found.
I decided that if I ever come into a windfall I’m going shopping for a house downtown. Being on the float really opened my eyes to what is on the route and that included some nice homes. I’ve now got my eye on a couple because, God knows, you buy a home for location, location, location—one of those “locations” being on this parade route.
We spent a lot of time on the float waving and yelling back at family members of those on the float. This is truly a family oriented event.
Hopefully most parade spectators occupied themselves in town and went on to witness one of the best fireworks displays in the county to cap off the Fourth of July celebration—Morgan Hill style.
Something I hear over and over again is that Morgan Hill embodies small town America. I think that what happens in this town around the Fourth of July cements that description with a lot of pride.
We throw a heck of a birthday party.
John McKay is a longtime Morgan Hill resident, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance.
