Celebrating the Fourth in “Flag City USA”

The United States Congress officially declared Redmond, OR as “Flag City USA” in 1999, recognizing the community spirit and patriotism that results in an amazing display of well over 1,000 American flags along the streets of the town on special holidays, including the Fourth of July. The sight is awe-inspiring.

“When there is a gentle wind, the sight of six miles of wall-to-wall flags will put shivers from your head to your toes,” said Randy Povey, co-chair of the Downtown Redmond Flag Committee.

The flag display goes up on the Fourth of July at 6 a.m. and is removed at 4 p.m., providing an exceptional backdrop for a day full of fun, family-oriented events.

The annual Fourth of July Parade, presented by St. Charles Health System and hosted by the Redmond Chamber of Commerce, begins at 10 a.m. and runs along Sixth Street downtown from Dogwood Ave. to Forest Ave. The theme this year is “Baseball, Hot Dogs, & Apple Pie” with prizes being awarded to floats and parade entries that best fit the theme and show originality.

“This parade is so much fun and is our biggest parade,” said Karen Sande, events director for the Redmond Chamber of Commerce. “It brings our whole community together along with a lot of families and visitors that come from out of town. Downtown businesses thrive on the parade and many of them stay open during the parade hours.”

After enjoying the flag display and parade downtown, the community is invited to attend the annual Old Fashioned July Fourth Celebration, held at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free event is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Central Oregon Truck Company and 35 other local businesses.

The schedule for the day of activities and games is jam-packed and includes pie, hot dog (pre-registration required) and watermelon eating contests, potato sack and three-legged races, basketball shoot offs, pony rides, face painting, archery, bounce houses, Frisbee golf, wagon rides, zoo train, arts and crafts, fly fishing and even a bicycle obstacle course (bring your own bike!).

“New activities this year include a football toss contest, giant jenga, and a slack line,” said Katie Hammer, executive director of the Redmond Area Park and Recreation District. “We are excited to add some activities that older kids would enjoy. Also, local Americana band Burnin’ Moonlight will be playing throughout the afternoon.”

Fireworks will light up the sky at dusk — around 10 p.m. — and the best place for viewing, according to organizers, is at the fairgrounds where they will be set off.

“We feel that keeping this tradition alive for our kids and our community is very important,” said Christie Rowe, office manager for High Desert Aggregate and Paving, sponsors of the annual fireworks show since 2011. “We are a local company and our heart is with our employees, their families and our community and we want to keep this tradition going.”

Tradition, patriotism, community and family will all be on full display in Redmond this Fourth of July as the town and visitors come together to honor the birth of our nation in “Flag City USA” — there couldn’t be a better place to celebrate.

For more information about how to get involved as a volunteer setting up and taking down flags, or to purchase a flag to be flown over the nation’s capitol and then incorporated into the flag display in Redmond, visit www.flagcityusa.us.

To register to participate in the parade and for more details, visit www.visitredmondoregon.com.

Volunteers are still needed the Old Fashioned July Fourth Celebration, if interested please contact Hammer at Katie.hammer@raprd.org. A full schedule for the day can be found online at www.redmondjuly4th.org.