The patriotic spirit of the Fourth of July carried into the streets of downtown Yuba City on the seventh of July during the first Star Spangled Celebration.
The event, which kicked off officially with a children’s parade Wednesday, brought people from the Yuba-Sutter area together under the red-white-and-blue spirit.
This was the latest incarnation of what was the Summer Stroll two years ago and the Downtown Yuba City Summer Festival last year. The Star Spangled Celebration was sponsored by the Yuba City Downtown Business Association.
This more patriotically themed event was meant to have the feeling of a community gathering in the first half of the 20th century, said event manager Linda Plummer.
“It’s like an old-fashioned street fair,” she said.
The Appeal-Democrat and its affiliated A-D Agency were the managing firms for the event. The newspaper also was a large sponsor.
Saturday’s festivities began with the Fremont-Rideout Patriots 5K Run/Walk. More than 100 people participated in the event, which raised funds for Yuba-Sutter United Way, Plummer said.
Later in the morning, the Independence Parade and Old Glory Extravaganza trotted, rolled and bounced down Plumas Street. Horses were followed by motorcycles and classic cars, which were followed by a customized orange truck lifting and dropping on four wheels.
Somewhere in the middle of the 22 entries was a scrap metal dragon with a 19-foot wingspan riding in the back of a truck, where it shifted its head back and forth.
During the heat of the day, the events were sporadic, with the farmers’ market being the centerpiece until the late afternoon. Downtown businesses also stayed open to give people air-conditioned retreats from the heat.
Two stages provided live theater and musical performances throughout the evening.
Absent from the performances was anything rock ’n’ roll-oriented. In its place was music from the roaring ’20s and the Depression era performed by acts such as the Vaudevillian Gordy the Banjo-ologist and the jazz standards of Kenni Fayette.