APPLES ON PARADE IN

JULIAN JULY FOURTH

            The Julian Fourth of July parade joins the town's Apple Centennial Celebration when it steps out on Main Street this year.

            The parade, an annual event for more than 15 years and dubbed by many as the "best little town parade in America," has adopted As American as Apple Pie as its theme. It celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the first Apple Day, a fall festival which was held in Julian in 1909 to celebrate all the awards Julian apples had won in previous years including the celebrated Wilder Medal for the best apples produced in an international competition.

            So, visitors will see apples everywhere during the event, starting with the Grand Marshal, Ray Meyer, a long-time apple grower and operator of one of Julian's most popular fruit stands in fall. Two of the many beautiful women selected to serve as Apple Day Queens during the fall celebrations, who still reside in the area, will also ride down Main Street.

            The parade typically draws 10,000 visitors who enjoy the hometown nature of the parade. You'll be standing side by side with local residents who wave to friends and neighbors astride horses, driving antique cars, members of the Tribal Mountain Gypsies belly-dancing the whole way. You can cheer the newly crowned Miss Julian and her court. There are drill teams, military units, animals of all descriptions, plus flags, bunting and marching bands.

            This year as always, the parade steps out from the parking lot at Julian High School promptly at noon on Saturday, July 4.  But the pre-parade, festivities highlighted by a screaming flyover by vintage airplanes, begin at 10. Plan to get there early not only for the flyover, but also for the patriotic speeches and town sing-along. Everyone gets a tiny flag to wave.     

The parade is the centerpiece of a collection of activities that celebrate Julian’s unique heritage. Foremost is a weeklong quilt show in Town Hall presented by the Julian Woman’s Club; it displays antique and new quilts primarily from Julian family collections. The town’s American Legion always holds a barbecue following the parade. And there’s entertainment, music and open shops throughout the event.

For information contact Julian Chamber of Commerce, 760/765-1857.