Celebrate from north to south July 4
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
While it looks like fireworks will be banned this Fourth of July due to record-breaking heat and dangerously dry conditions (see sidebar), there’s still much to celebrate and many ways to do it throughout Lake County that doesn’t include pyrotechnics.
Big Arm
Big Arm will host their annual Big Arm Boat Parade at 6 p.m. on Independence Day. Boaters are welcome to decorate their watercraft and join the festivities on the water, or just come and watch from the shore. The parade begins at the old Arrowhead R.V. docks and ends at the Big Arm Restaurant.
Charlo
Charlo might be one of the tiniest communities in Lake County, but they’ve got some of the biggest patriotic spirits. A parade with the theme “Let Bells Ring for Freedom” begins in front of the high school at noon and closes Highway 212 as it travels through downtown — twice. A handful of floats are expected, including one for the Class of 1965 and one for basketball coach Brett Thompson, who is set to be inducted into the Montana Coaches Hall of Fame later this month.
“It is open to everyone,” organizer LaDonna Fryberger said.
There will not be a fireworks display in Charlo this year.
Polson
Fourth of July in Polson provides a whole day of family fun, beginning with the annual parade at noon.
This year’s parade theme is Home is Where the Heart Is, and entry forms for folks who want to be in the parade are available at the Polson Chamber of Commerce, 418 Main Street, or online at www.polsonchamber.com. Entries are due at the chamber on July 3.
While everyone is filing downtown to catch the parade, thirsty people can stop in at the chamber for a glass of lemonade. The chamber sells lemonade to raise money for the Fourth of July fireworks show. People can also support the show by dropping money in canisters at all the local grocery stores.
This year’s parade grand marshal will be Oscar Baertsch, who celebrates his 100th birthday on the Fourth of July.
“I really think we are going to have a huge parade on our hands,” said Amber Pacheco-Holm, chamber director.
After the last piece of candy is scooped up, parade goers can head to the Flathead Historical Museum, 708 Main Street, for free admission to the museum and a free ice cream cone at the museum’s annual ice cream social.
“My husband’s pet steer, Rudolph, is there,” Dorla Scott said.
Scott works at the museum, and Rudolph is the Scotch Highland steer that was stuffed and is on display at the museum.
“Last year we had a big crowd for the ice cream social,” Scott said. “We appreciate everything the community does for the museum so this is our way of paying back.”
After ice cream, bring a picnic lunch to Sacajawea Park for a free concert sponsored by Anderson Broadcasting with music beginning at 2 p.m. and lasting until 10:30-ish or dark. Off in the Woods, a band composed of Polson young people, will play.
“We’ve kind of been dubbed Montana soul,” said Jon Schumacher, a member of Off in the Woods. “It’s kind of hard to pin it — kind of a mixture of old school soul, some jazz, funk, reggae and some rocking blues.”
Off in the Woods won the battle of the bands in Missoula, competing against 30 other groups.
They’re planning on finishing another album by the end of the summer.
Ticket Sauce, a buddy band of the Polson boys, will entertain, too.
Sacajawea Park is a great place for a picnic lunch, a swim and it connects by walkway to Riverside Park, if the kids want to paddle in Flathead Lake.
When it gets darks, about 10:30 p.m., it’ll be time for the fireworks show organized by the Polson Chamber of Commerce and set off by Steve Dupuis. As of press time, the show is pending possible fireworks restrictions, see www.valleyjournal.net for updates.
If the show goes on, bring lawn chairs or a blanket and the whole family to watch explosions of color in the big Montana sky.
Arlee
The first week in July is the biggest of the year for the town of Arlee as a string of cultural and community events shine in the spotlight.
Arlee Celebration kicks off July 1 and is one of the largest community cultural celebrations of the year. People come from around the nation to see relatives and friends come together to share native culture. The more than a century-old powwow culminates in a huge three-day dancing competition that brings hundreds of competitors.
For many Arlee residents, the Fourth of July runs like a well-oiled clock with a quadruple-threat lineup of events that leaves folks tired but happy by the end of the day.
“A lot of people will start at the pancake breakfast, go to the parade, hit the rodeo, and then head to the powwow,” Arlee Open Rodeo Organizer Stephanie Hendrickson said.
Festivities kick off with the Arlee Volunteer Fire Department’s Pancake Breakfast at 7 a.m. For more than three decades the department has risen early, mixed batter, and asked folks to fork over $5 for a scrumptious all you can eat breakfast that includes short stacks, sausage, eggs cooked to order and other side dishes.
Between 500 and 1,000 folks show up each year, and that means the department can better serve its citizens.
“It’s our main fundraiser for the year,” Chet Schliaker, President of Arlee Volunteer Fire Department said. “We run mainly off of taxes, but everything is so expensive that our budget doesn’t cover everything.”
Schliaker said the breakfast is a tradition.
“As a kid I can remember starting off the morning with the pancake breakfast, waiting and hanging around the fire hall until the parade starts,” Schliaker said.
The Arlee Fourth of July parade is one of the biggest in Lake County.
Organizer Alvaretta Morin said one of the things that makes it special is the almost 50-50 mix of Native cultural representation and mainstream Fourth of July displays. The streets of the tiny town are flooded with people from around the United States and world for one day out of the year. In addition to floats, folks dress up in funny outfits and walk and sometimes ride unorthodox means of transportation, like a unicycle.
Morin said she never knows what to expect in the lineup.
“It’s a great little parade,” Morin said.
After the parade ends, those in the farm and ranch community will be headed out to the Arlee Open Rodeo, which starts at 2 p.m.
Hendrickson said the event is a hometown affair, with most of the cowboys, cowgirls, and stock coming from local ranches.
“We feature lots of local contestants,” Hendrickson said. “That’s what people come to watch — their kid or their grandkid.”
Around 2,000 people pack the rodeo arena, so folks who want to snag a spot in the shaded portion of the area that is covered should come early. Otherwise, grab a cowgirl hat or an umbrella to keep the sun off and come watch the dust fly as the action unfolds.
