Free Friday: Children's Independence Day Parade at Durham Central Park

*So here's another one of those posts that I wanted to give you now so you could file it away for next year.  We've already reported on how fun it is to check out Festival for the Eno on your Fourth of July, and this time we wanted to tell you about another great Durham tradition for the Fourth, and this one's free!  

What it is:  This year, on the advice of some of our readers, we decided to check out one of the other great area Fourth of July activities, the Children's Independence Day Parade at Durham Central Park.  The event started at 9:30 in the morning, but we didn't arrive until closer till 10 or 10:15.  We parked on some nearby street parking, brought out the boys' bikes, and headed on over to the Durham Central Park Pavilion where many other strollers, bikes, and scooters were convening.  Once there, each of the kids was given a balloon and we could pull from countless barrels or arts and crafts to further decorate our bikes. The boys had a great time pulling items from the bins and making their bikes as red, white, blue, and festive as they could.  There was also a Durham Fire Truck and several police motorcycles that the kids could check out.

At around 11, the parade got started.  We first headed up behind the pavilion, then came down a street next to it, up across the bridge and through the park, then back down the sidewalk at the other side.  When we arrived back at the pavilion, they had set up the fire truck alongside the park and a hose was spraying onto the grass.  The kids all put down their bikes, took off their helmets and had a ball running through the water.

What we liked:  Each segment of the morning was short enough to be fun and simple enough that all of the kids could participate and have a great time.  Plus, my kids were proud of their decorated bikes and taking them on the parade.  It was a fun, simple, and FREE event that I would definitely take my kids to on the Fourth.

What we would change:  If they surprise us again next year with the fire hose, I would definitely remember to send my kids in a swim suit.  Otherwise, we had a ball!

Website and other important information:

Website: http://durhamcentralpark.org/

Location: Durham Central Park

Date and Time: July 4, 9:30-11:30am (in 2013)

Photos:

(bins of fantastic art supplies from The Scrap Exchange)

(kids waiting to parade)

(examining the fire truck)

(the parade starts)

(a surprise ending to a great celebration)