EVERETT — Thousands lined the streets of downtown Everett on Friday to gaze upon the city’s annual Fourth of July parade.
Benny Perkins, 5, and Eleanor Perkins, 8, run across Colby Avenue before the start of the Fourth of July parade on Friday, July 4, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Attendees, some who arrived far earlier than the event began to get the best seats, were greeted by pleasant weather. They watched for about an hour and a half as parade entrants streamed by: dancers, scout troops, middle school marching bands, walking hot dog mascots and more candidates for local elected office than you could count on one hand.
Baile folklórico dancers make their way down Colby Avenue as people clap during the Fourth of July parade on Friday, July 4, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Those watching from the sidelines all had a different favorite. Five-year-old Benny Perkins said he liked the firefighters best. Her sister, 8-year-old Eleanor, was a fan of the “ginormous horses” that carried Everett mayor Cassie Franklin in a carriage.
Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin rides in a carriage down Colby Avenue during the Fourth of July parade on Friday, July 4, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
“The horses are, like, as big as our house,” she said.
The event celebrated the 249th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the document announcing the 13 Colonies’ separation from Great Britain in 1776.
Campbell M., 4, looks up at her American flag during the Fourth of July parade on Friday, July 4, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett’s Independence Day parade has been a tradition for decades, running down Colby Avenue and back around Wetmore Avenue through the heart of the city’s downtown. It briefly halted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic until a private group, The Everett July 4th Foundation, brought the parade back to life in 2023.
“I think this is one of the best things about Everett,” said Michelle Conley, who has attended the parade for over a decade.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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