Pleasant Hill gearing up for full day of patriotic events

PLEASANT HILL, CA (June 26, 2022) — Thanks to our fantastic Fourth of July Commission, all of the July 4th activities are back this year – including the Firecracker Run, downtown parade, Party in the Park and fireworks.

Check out http://www.phjuly4.com for all the details, to volunteer to help and to support this daylong event with your donations.

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. I love the sights, sounds and spirit of the celebration of our country’s Declaration of Independence. My earliest recollections of celebrating the 4th are from family vacations at a wonderful resort called Marin Town & Country Club. For a kid from San Francisco, the warm and lush surroundings of Fairfax seemed like Shangri-La.

My family, including all my aunts, uncles and 18 cousins, spent two weeks each summer at this enchanting retreat during the first two weeks of July. What a treat to celebrate our country’s independence with those you love in an environment close to nature.

After the kids ate an early barbecue dinner on the 4th, we piled into the back of my dad’s wood-paneled station wagon to go into town for ice cream. (Those were the days before seatbelt laws.)

Fireworks

At sunset, we returned for what I thought was the most spectacular fireworks show ever. Mind you, as an 8-year-old, a couple of bottle rockets and all of us singing “God Bless America” was pretty spectacular. In those days, we even got to set off our own firecrackers and run around with lighted sparklers. Thankfully, no one ever got hurt.

These days, we love celebrating the Fourth with friends and neighbors in downtown Pleasant Hill. I still love the marching bands and all the kids parading by, but I do miss the Marching Barbecue Dads. They certainly added a “special flavor” to this marvelous day.

After the parade, I follow the crowd to Pleasant Hill Park for fun, food and games. All the activities make this event a delightful celebration for people of all ages. I always struggle deciding what to eat, but if there’s a pizza or pie eating contest, I’m eager to participate.

Later, we watch the city’s great fireworks display. Each year, the Fourth of July Commission somehow manages to put on a bigger and better celebration.

Thankful

As I enjoy the various Fourth of July activities, I’m thankful that our founding fathers had the wisdom and courage to make the bold move to take 13 separate colonies and form one great nation. As I’ve said before about our founding fathers and our veterans, we are “the land of the free because we are the home of the brave.”

I love a good old-fashioned American barbecue, with hamburgers and ribs. It would have been a shame if we were still a British colony and had to spend the day eating steak and kidney pie. (By the way, they do have the Fourth of July in England, but they don’t celebrate it as a holiday. I wonder why?)

I’m always reminded of what a great hometown Pleasant Hill is. So many people give tirelessly of their time and effort, not just on the Fourth of July, but also on so many other occasions, to make Pleasant Hill a fun place to live and raise a family.
Happy Fourth of July everyone.

Email questions and comments for Mayor Harris to mharris4ph@gmail.com