Red, white, blue the colors of the day for Fourth of July at Sylvan Park in Redlands By Laurie Williams, Correspondent POSTED: 07/04/14 REDLANDS >> The U.S. Constitution is the focus for members of the Redlands-based 4400 Project – the group is so named because there are 4400 words in that document – but on Friday at Fourth of July festivities in Sylvan Park they let the Declaration of Independence get in on the act. “The Declaration of Independence is why we exist (as a nation),” said Director Terri Wimer. “The Constitution is how.” The group had several activities going on at its booth — kids were making red, white and blue necklaces out of beads at one end, and at the other end passersby were invited to sign a sheet of butcher paper under a large reproduction of the Declaration of Independence. As with the original document signed by the founders of the United States, some signatures were small and others were large — as if, like John Hancock, the signers were making sure their names would stand out. Patriotism took pride of place in Sylvan Park, where children waved flags as they played and grown-ups sported red, white and blue as they chatted, listened to band music and, in some cases, debated whether a hot dog or a hamburger was the more patriotic choice as Fourth of July food. “The hot dog is definitely America’s food,” said Cody Welborn of Mentone as he watched a dozen frankfurters on his family’s portable grill. “It cannot be denied. Baseball? Hot dogs? Case closed.” His brother, Caleb, responded by taking a big bite of the burger he had bought from a nearby vendor. The Welborns were celebrating the Fourth with a group of about a dozen neighbors, set up for cooking and soaking up both shade and sun on a grassy rise overlooking University Street. They had a good vantage point for the Fourth of July Parade, and afterward would turn their chairs around to take in the performance of the Redlands Fourth of July Band. “We planned this,” Welborn said. “This is our spot every year.” His group, however, was a bit of a hike away from vendors who sold the snacks that helped event participants cool down, and who were getting brisk business in the 90-plus degree heat. “We’ve been doing this for about 20 years,” said Staci White of Redlands, supervising youth from her church, the Hope Center, as they crushed ice, scooped it into paper cones and drizzled on multicolored syrups. “Sno-cones are going to be popular today.” Selling sno-cones, funnel cakes, hot dogs, hamburgers and lemonade is a good way for the youth to help raise money for the church’s programs, she said, and getting to be at the event is also a lot of fun. The work is done in shifts so the volunteers have a chance to enjoy the festivities. Waiting for their work — the annual concert in the park — gave members of the Redlands Fourth of July band a chance to take in the sights and sounds of the day, whether that meant standing with their instruments listening to rock music, watching the Zanja Fife and Drum Corps warm up for the parade, or just finding a shady place to talk about music, like horn players Vonda Zaharopoulos and Sandi Fullgrabe. I really like ‘The King and I,’” Zaharopoulos said, referring to one of the pieces the band would be playing later. “Another one I enjoy is ‘On the Mall.’” Fullgrabe liked those too, she said: “But I’ve got to go with ‘The Stars and Stripes Forever’ and ‘America.’” redlandsdailyfacts/lifestyle/20140704/red-white-blue-the-colors-of-the-day-for-fourth-of-july-at-sylvan-park-in-redlands
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 17:04:27 +0000
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