Hours before the fireworks, a few hundred people gathered at the base of Pilot Butte to take in a showcase of blues music, enjoy the sunshine and celebrate the 228th anniversary of America’s independence.

Shortly after the Red, White and Blues Festival started, music lovers and Fourth of July revelers staked claim to patches of grass with lawn chairs, blankets or the seats of their pants.

It’s a day best known for eating barbecue, displaying red, white and blue, waving American flags and watching fireworks.

But the symbolism of the day, which marks the signing of the Declaration of Independence, wasn’t lost on Dennis Morton.

To Morton, a retired United Parcel Service driver living in Bend, the Fourth of July has become a way to celebrate his own patriotism – a feeling that has been fueled by the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq.

”I never used to put a flag out, but I do now,” Morton said. ”And I never used to vote, but I do now.”

His wife, Jan, also reveled in the true meaning of Independence Day.

”It means we’ve got peace, and we’re celebrating what it stands for,” Morton said. ”I’m glad we can all get together at this time.”

For Harold Miller, 68, a retired contractor, sitting with friends at Pilot Butte State Park was a respite from his daily hike up the butte.

But it wasn’t much of a deviation from his usual Fourth of July activities, which involve hanging out with friends and eating barbecue.

Miller and his friend Emmanuel Llado, 62, appreciated the freedom that is honored through Independence Day.

”We’re blessed to have it,” Miller said. ”It’s a great feeling. Too bad we couldn’t celebrate it every day.”

Llado added, ”We’re celebrating in memory of our troops who are fighting all over the world so we can do this.”

Like most of the spectators at the festival, Llado and Miller combined reverence for the holiday with light-hearted fun.

A few rows up, Cheryl Garcia, 53, a preschool teacher from San Diego, danced with her 3-year-old granddaughter to the strains of Aretha Franklin’s, ”Chain of Fools” being covered by the music group, the Norman Sylvester Band.

With arms raised and hips swaying left to right in time to the music, Garcia and 3-year-old Isabella VanderKamp entertained the row of family and friends seated before them.

Garcia and her husband, Michael, 55, a retired government worker, were in town to visit their daughter. The Garcias also live part time in Sisters.

Watching blues music surrounded by family was a fitting way tribute to Fourth of July, which to Michael Garcia means ”coming together as people and celebrating our heritage and our freedom.”

A few lawn chairs down in the tight-knit circle, Jeremy Storton, 30, the aquatic director of Sisters Athletic Club, joked that Fourth of July is about ”barbecue and beer.”

World events and his own maturity have also tinged the holiday with reflection.

”For me, Fourth of July has become another excuse to party, but we need to remember the reason for the season,” Storton said. ”We have to remember where we came from and who we are.”

Ernestine Bousquet can be reached at 541-504-2336 or at ebousquet@bendbulletin.com.