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Community

Festive 4th celebrated by area residents, communities

Updated
Festive 4th celebrated by area residents, communities
A color guard led the annual Fourth of July parade that attracted dozens of entrants and hundreds of visitors to the small Grant County community of George on Saturday. Photos by Randy Bracht

Parades, custom cars, fireworks (and fires), the World’s Largest Cherry Pie — those and more were all part of a flag-waving Fourth of July as area residents and visitors in George, Ephrata, and Soap Lake joined in Saturday's nationwide celebration of America’s 250th birthday.

Festivities in the three Basin communities also included fun runs, live music, colonial costumes, historical presentations, a smorgasbord of food offerings, 3v3 basketball tournaments, campaigning by elected and would-be politicians, prancing horses, humongous tractors, and a myriad of vendor booths.

Here’s a look at some of the scenes on Independence Day 2026:

Beth Lnenicka Woyke, an Ephrata native now living in Richland, was among the parade spectators in George on Saturday, attending with her husband, their young children, and other family members.
Period costume and a “250” U.S. flag were among the reminders of the nation's semiquincentennial anniversary of the Revolutionary era and our forefathers signing the Declaration of Independence. Some of the patriotic garb covered from head to toe …
Lady Liberty and replicas of historical documents adorned a float.
Two youngsters traveling by foot shared candy and bubble blowers with the parade crowd (above) while a group of vaqueros, young and old, hoofed the route by horseback (below).
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Even the music went mobile.

The end was near for runners and walkers in the Cherry Bomb Run (above), which kicked off Saturday’s festivities in George. Below, over 150 entrants completed the 2-mile loop course, led by 15-year-old Caleb Fitts of Ephrata, who clocked a winning time of 10 minutes, 40 seconds. Fitts was followed by runner-up Eric Mendoza (age 42, 10:51) and third-place finisher Caleb Schooler (age 15, 11:40). Camille Ussher, 21, was the top female runner and 12th overall with a time of 13:02.
For their efforts, a special anniversary T-shirt.
A centerpiece of the annual George holiday event, the World’s Largest Cherry Pie awaited its unveiling later in the day (above). Below, Marylou Krautscheid (left) and Glenys Stadelman, two members of the Georgette community volunteers, displayed this year’s pie design. It involved 48 gallons of cherry pie filling, 2.5 hours of baking dozens of doughy design elements on Thursday, and another 90 minutes of final assembly. They thanked Akins Foods of Quincy for the store’s contributions to the efforts.
In Ephrata on Saturday, volunteer Mick Qualls (above at left) chatted with local businessman and historian Mike Scellick prior to a public presentation at the Grant County Historical Museum (below). Scellick and wife Sharon own the century-old Nat Washington House, located across from the Grant County Courthouse. Mike spoke of the artifacts, documents, and paintings collected by the late Nat Washington — a respected attorney, Army officer, state senator, state fish and wildlife commissioner, and amateur archaeologist — and his father Nathaniel, who initially came to the Grand Coulee area from West Virginia in the early 1900s. The two men were descendants of a sibling of first U.S. President George Washington, and some items saved by the family date back to the 1600s, said Scellick. The Nat Washington House is recognized by the state and nationally as a place of historical significance.
From muscle cars to flamed coupes to hopped lowriders, East Main Avenue shined with custom paint and chrome during the Suds ‘N Sun festival sponsored by the Soap Lake Chamber of Commerce.
A T-bucket roadster was also among the entrants admired during a well-attended evening parade.
Longtime community volunteers Kayleen Bryson and Nels Borg were honored as grand marshals of Soap Lake’s parade, chauffeured in a restored 1960s Chevy Nova SS driven by Vince Berry of Hartline.
Vocalists Mel Brown and Renee Johnson harmonized on their rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The Soap Lake Eagle, and those who dwell within, made a parade appearance.
McKay Healthcare and Rehab got this banner boost in the downtown parade.
Color themes ranged from pink for the EquipmentShare float (above) to red, white, and blue for participants from the SAIL (Stay Active and Independent for Life) program (below).
Soap Lake’s planned fireworks show was cancelled after gusty winds and an overnight wildland fire at nearby Blue Lake prompted an emergency mutual-aid response by area firefighters, which continued into Sunday afternoon. Photo by Erik Koch
But elsewhere in the area, celebratory pyrotechnics were seen bursting in air Saturday night to cap the Independence Day activities.
From staff reports profile image
by From staff reports
Updated

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