The Fourth of July Parade is one of the highlights of celebrating the day on Lopez.

The parade brings together and showcases the diverse island community in a grand celebration. This year there will be some changes that the Lions hope will encourage more people to participate.

The route will be 1.5 miles about one-half as long as previous years. Registration will be in the parking lot of ISLA Glass (formerly the Creamery) on Fisherman Bay Road, judging will be in the village in front of the old market, and entries with children under the age of sixteen must have a responsible adult with them throughout the parade.

The theme is “One If By Land, Two If By Sea”. Registration begins at 9 a.m. with step-off at 11 a.m. Prizes will be awarded at the Lopez Community Center following the parade. The grand marshal is Murray Trelease. Trelease and his wife Mariette moved permanently to Lopez Island in 1992 as the priest in charge of Grace Episcopal Church after a career as rector, headmaster, and community organizer that took them from Kansas City to Alaska. He has volunteered with several organizations since moving to Lopez and is currently on the board of Lopez Housing Options and a hospice volunteer. He and Mariette are in their 50th year of marriage, have three children and are the proud grandparentsb of five.

Contact Jamie Stephens 468-4408 or Jerry Scherzinger 468-2477 for further information.