ARLINGTON – Thousands of people turned out for the Arlington Frontier Days 4th of July festival to exercise their right to freedom of celebration Tuesday.
After a hearty pancake breakfast in Haller Park hosted by Youth Dynamics, the festivities got off to a running start – literally – with the Pedal, Paddle, Puff Triathlon and new Foam 5K run that left runners with a bubbly finish. Other activities included the Kiwanis Auction supporting local youth scholarships, food vendors, and an occasional roof-high burst of suds from the foam jets not unlike what happens using too much soap in a clothes washer.
The Arlington Arts Council used the day to announce the name of Haller Park’s newest resident, a ride-on frog sculpture dubbed “Sir Hops-A-Lot,” by a contributor to an online “name the frog” contest.
The Arlington Runners Club opened the Stilly Beer and Wine Garden doors at noon.Festival-goers spent the rest of the day with a slate of activities split between downtown and down by the river, with kids games in Legion Park as part of Hometown Fourth activities.
The sunny day drew an outpouring of people, many dressed in patriotic red, white and blue, and waving or wearing the old stars and stripes.
In the lovable Kiddies Parade, children donning Independence Day fashion walked or bicycled, while still others enjoyed the view from the Rotary train as it wended along an Olympic Avenue flanked by parade watchers. One young girl with pioneer spirit came in a covered wagon pulled by a stuffed pony on a skateboard.
The Grand Parade kicked off with a mixed military honor guard, follow by the parade grand marshal NeoBots robotics team from Arlington High School and their champion robot, Bertha, a mini-refrigerator-sized robot that can climb a rope, launch whiffle balls and compete at national championships like the team did taking fourth at the FIRST World Championships in Houston last April.
The parade provided a solid mix of entertainment with floats, colorful costumes, marching bands, first responder and historic vehicles and other mainstays that make the holiday parade a traditional favorite in the Stilly Valley.
At the river, the yellow ducks representing the Rotary Club’s annual Stilly Valley Duck Dash were exceedingly slow floating downriver after a front-end loader dumped them from atop Lincoln Bridge into the south fork of the Stillaguamish River toward the finish line at Haller Bridge.
Tickets buyers lined the bridge to give their ducks added motivation to cross the finish line first and into the waiting nets of Rotarians. The duck dash is one of the club’s largest and most visible annual fundraisers.
“There have been years where the winning ducks were beak to beak in a photo finish, so you never know from one year to the next,” Larry Knowles said, watching from atop Haller Bridge.
Here are this year’s duck bash big finishers:
1. Tyler Parker, $5,000; 2. Dan Hughes, Lynn Birke, Mike Kmet, Kelly Peterson and John Knechtel, $1,000 each. 3. $100 winners were Brent Nicholson, Tom Lampe, Ryan Anaya, Virginia Hatch, RH2 Inc (Dan Burnell), Ken Stevens, B&B Fabricators, Bill Miller, Bette VanAusdal and Linda Baughman
A fireworks show at the Boys & Girls Club ended the event.
Kelli McCallister of Arlington said her family attends every year.
“We wouldn’t miss it,” she said. “If you were looking for a mostly old-fashioned traditional holiday event, you came to the right place.”
