For a half-century, our family tradition of celebrating America’s birthday includes the Coeur d’Alene parade. I have great memories of the event from my own youth, and when my daughters were young and later with my grandsons. Our daughters and now their sons loved to put dollar bills in the fireworks fund buckets before the parade. When we’d watch the fireworks that night they would wait for the one burst they would claim as “theirs.”

For many years my late father rode in the machine gun turret of a tank at the front of the parade with his buddies from the Marine Corps League and the Chosin Few. I’ve driven beauty queens and a grand marshal or two, memorably the late Ace Walden in his centennial year. It was a Norman Rockwell kind of day on Coeur d’Alene’s Main Street aka Sherman Avenue. I’ve accompanied floats but mostly have been an enthusiastic, flag-waving spectator on the sidewalk.

For the sixth year I’ll enjoy a bird’s eye view from the announcer’s skybox between Second and Third streets on Sherman Avenue. This year I’ve enlisted another lifelong Fourth of July parade enthusiast to be my man-on-the-street with a second microphone. Scott Hough’s history with the parade goes back to his childhood as well.

His late father, Bob Hough, was memorable for doing parade announcing for KVNI while wearing roller skates. In recent years Bob and Coke Hough attended the parade, sitting in the bleachers next to the skybox. Scott is also well-known for many trips down the parade route through the years, as a zoot-suited DJ with some killer moves of his own.

So along with Curtis from ROX providing sound and tech support, we should have quite a party going on downtown both before and during the parade. As we wait for the first entries to make it to our location when the parade starts at 11 a.m. at 15th Street, there will be street dancing for the little ones. It’s become a really fun part of the parade experience to see them all out there busting a move.

Hope to see you all on Monday morning for a star-spangled hometown parade!

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Diners at the newly-opened Anthony’s in Riverstone on Sunday evening enjoyed some unexpected tinsel town ambiance: Oscar-winning actor, director and film festival founder — the Sundance Kid himself — Robert Redford dined with family to the delight of eagle-eyed locals.

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Coeur d’Alene enjoys the well-deserved reputation for world class Ironman volunteers and fans here in the Lake City. An enthusiastic cheering section on East Mullan Avenue and 21st Street caught the eye of Coeur d’Alene City Council member Kiki Miller on Sunday. The fans were holding signs with messages: "Worst parade ever,” "If Trump can run, so can you!" "Always give 100%, except when giving blood." "Why do all the cute ones run away?" and my favorite — "I'm so proud of you perfect stranger!!"

After swimming, cycling and in the last miles of the half-marathon, you just know those signs brought some smiles to the athletes’ faces.

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While the streets of Coeur d’Alene and Spokane were awash with triathletes and hoopsters for Ironman and Hoopfest, a group of local women of a certain age were owning the U.S. Tennis Association’s Pacific Northwest Women's 55 and Over Sectional Tournament. Peak Tennis Club members Cheryl Stransky (captain), Cyndie Johnson Lempesis, Carol Furman and Betsey Ashcraft, along with teammates from The Spokane Club; Nancy Bettesworth, Shirley Steiner and Julie Travis will now compete in the National Championships Oct. 21-23 in Surprise, Ariz.

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Happy birthday today to Neil Conner, Kiley Archer, Monty Danner, Krystal Gordillo, Kiley Nick, Lyndon Harriman and Carolyn Havens.

On the last day of June birthdays will be marked by Patty McGinnis, Kyle Rutley, George Green, Katie Disney, Kimberly Carlson and Rosie Brown.

July 1 birthdays belong to Tim Riordan, Arlene Reichenberg, Bill Brown, Terry Alexander, Chris Harrison, Byron Hamby and Mark Johnson.

Saturday Tonya Bean, Jim Dennison, Ron Baltzell and Ted Wright will celebrate.

July 3 birthday wishes to Jeff Ward, Dana Merritt and Mark Durant.

On Monday the United States of America, Jedidiah Riley, Brent Regan, Chris Atkinson, Jennifer Locke, Joscelyn Ramsey, Jake Campbell, Keri Roybal, MaryBeth Matthews, Dick Lind, Tyson Chamberlain, Britney Davenport, Jack Smetana, Glenda Johnson, Amber Hunt, Teresa Espe and Orla Kahl celebrate their star-spangled birthdays.

On Tuesday Steve Hanson, John Beutler, Chris Hollibaugh, Kaila Hansen and Amy Dreps will enjoy another trip around the sun.

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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.