Happy Third of July!
What is a parade without the fire trucks! It's a good thing that we did not have a fire in town during the parade! All seven trucks plus those of neighboring areas led the parade--from the old (above) to the new (left). The children love to hear the sirens! The volunteer firemen gave away fire helmets to all the children along the parade route (now we see the results of all of those Spaghetti Feeds!).
Dr. Barnes was the Grand Marshall of the parade, which means that our WT, Pat, was at his side riding in the parade.
Our WT, Dorothy, is the Mayor's wife, so she also rode in the parade!
The Northern Lights Music Festival participants rode in the parade on the Minnesota Power float. Many of the kids brought ethnic costumes with them to the camp because they had all heard about the Fourth in town and the fact that they would be riding on the float. They all seemed to be having a great time and got a rousing round of applause all along the parade route! Note: Irene's granddaughter, Kelley, who works for MP, helped design and decorate the float. Great job, Kelley! 
Minnesota Power has been "Electrifying a Century" now. They are a corporate sponsor of the Music Festival. On Wednesday, July 12, there is a big Birthday Bash at the auditorium--we will celebrate the Birthday Boys (Shostakovich and Mozart), the 100th for our local Township, the 100th for our local bank (also a corportate sponsor) and the 100th for Minnesota Power. There will be birthday cake for everyone! Sounds like another great evening!
The Fourth of July is a big deal on the Iron Range. Even with the parade on a Monday evening, there were still plenty of people around. Tomorrow there will be a City Band Concert at 11:00 a.m. followed by the Children's parade at noon. Throughout the day there will be many activities.
There will be a Northern Lights Music Festival Concert at 4:00 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Another one for us all to enjoy--looks as if there will be some Sousa and other patriotic music!
