Everett marks America’s 250th with annual parade
Published 2:52 pm Saturday, July 4, 2026
EVERETT — Thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Everett on Saturday to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States with the city’s annual Independence Day parade.
Saturday marked 250 years since delegates from the original 13 colonies signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, marking the founding of the United States of America. The semiquincentennial celebration — try saying that three times fast — added extra meaning to Everett’s already-popular Fourth of July parade, which travels through the streets of the city’s downtown every year.
Dozens of local organizations, sports teams, politicians and first responders made up the figures who took part in the parade. They included dancers, figure skaters, cheerleaders, bus drivers, rowers and the North Middle School band, among many others. The Archbishop Murphy High School football team, who won the 2A state title in 2025, brought their hard-earned trophy for all to see.
Attendees kept eyes the parade from wherever they could; not just sitting along the street, but by looking outside their windows or watching from apartment balconies.
Those along the route waved flags and wore all different combinations of red, white and blue. Before the parade started, 10-year-old Declan Still, donning a bald eagle shirt, a straw cowboy hat and red, white and blue beads, threw a baseball around with his 12-year-old brother, Corbin.
For Anna Lie, the day of the parade marked the end of almost daily work she underwent to create custom clothing for the parade. Inspired by her great grandmother, who had created a set of colonial dresses meant for young children, she spent the better part of three months creating a set of four colonial-era outfits that she and others ended up wearing to Saturday’s parade. (Her only prior experience with making clothes was sewing a princess dress, she said).
Lie lives in the city’s downtown, and said she’s a regular attendee of the annual parade. The fact that this year marked the 250th anniversary made it all the more special, she said.
“It’s amazing,” Lie said. “It’s cool to see other people celebrating and treating it like it’s a big deal.”
Everett’s Fourth of July festival, located at Legion Memorial Park at 145 Alverson Blvd. in Everett, was set to begin at 3 p.m. A fireworks show in Port Gardner Bay is planned for approximately 10:15 p.m. Saturday.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
