EVERETT — The Fourth of July parade in downtown Everett featured stilt walkers, acrobats and Chinese lion dancers.
It also came with a price tag.
The parade, an all-day festival at Legion Memorial Park and the fireworks cost the city a total of $87,424. Forty percent of it was paid for by company donations; the rest came from taxpayer dollars.
The money went toward marketing, the rental of toilets and generators, entertainers and the fireworks. That’s a bargain for the Everett community, said parade organizers.
“If you look at any of the major successful parades that draw tens of thousands of people, you would be hard pressed to find one that doesn’t pay,” said Kate Reardon, the city’s spokeswoman.
The city has thrown a parade and festival on the Fourth for the past four years. Before that, a civic group organized the event until its membership dwindled.
Despite the faltering economy, the city’s Fourth of July budget has remained about the same.
What’s changed is the attendance, which this year hit a high of an estimated 12,000 people at the parade and 9,000 at the festival.
Every bit of space in Legion Park was covered with blankets and folding chairs for the fireworks, said Lanie McMullin, the city’s economic development director. The free festival and other activities gave people a chance to celebrate without driving down to Seattle.
In order to make the event a “wow” experience, the city hired performers for both the festival and the parade.
The pricetag for all the bands at the festival was around $4,000. Fourteen entertainers in the parade were paid a total of $12,000.
Those entertainers include a circus troupe that was paid $2,500 to perform at both events and a stilt walker, who was paid $400 to work the parade. Other paid entertainers included the Seattle Cossacks stunt motorcycle team, the Navy Band and the Northwest Junior Pipe Band.
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com
Paid parade entertainment
Navy Band Northwest: $1,347
Janet Rayor Stilt Walker: $400
Chinese Lion Dancers: $1,000
Chinese Girls Drill Team: $600
Seattle All-City Marching Band: $1,600
Tacoma Scots Pipe & Drum: $500
Wunderlust Circus: $2,500
NW Junior Pipe Band: $600
Eric Haines Stilt Walker: $375
Seattle Cossacks: $600
Filipiniana: $750
Larry Dobson Stiltwalker: $375
Radost: $200
Allentown Cadets: $2,000
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