OTHELLO — The Greater Othello Chamber of Commerce hosted the city’s annual Fourth of July celebration in Lions Park. The event lasted all day Friday with a parade, games, tournaments and a fireworks show.

“Overall, I think it was a great event,” said Chamber Manager Jackie Wilhelm. “I think we’ve worked on the things that needed to be worked on, and everything went well as far as the organization and the planning and getting people in and out of the park.”

Wilhelm said her favorite part of the celebration is the flag-raising ceremony.

“That's something that I’ve tried to make sure we highlight and incorporate every year,” she said.

The flag raising ceremony began at about noon, and the chamber made sure to invite Veterans of Foreign Wars, former military, law enforcement, the fire department and emergency medical services to participate, said Wilhelm. The flag was raised at the center of the park so that everyone present could take part.

“It kind of just kicks off everything going on at the park,” she said.

The annual parade was at 10 a.m., which Wilhelm said was the longest parade so far. This year’s parade had around 45-50 participants and lasted for about an hour, which is an increase from last year’s parade.

She said the parade featured floats from school clubs, sports clubs, businesses, politicians, and vehicles from law enforcement, the fire department and EMS.

The event had an increase in new vendors this year, including Chuy’s Creations, which is a new business in Othello, alongside Tacos El Torito, Mi Casa Market, and non-food vendors selling items such as novelty hats and boots. In total, Wilhelm said that there were around 10 new vendors this year.

“I think that my favorite part of this whole festival is just looking at all the vendors and buying stuff from it,” said Jackson Smoot, who just got done buying food with his family.

“There’s just a lot to do, a lot to look at,” said Kayla Smoot, Jackson’s mother.

Throughout the morning and into the early afternoon, the Chamber held a youth soccer, a basketball and a youth and adult coed volleyball tournament. The volleyball tournament had the highest popularity at the event, with seven teams signing up to play. Basketball and soccer were not too far behind, with around six teams each.

“It was a pretty good crowd of teams and people participating in those events,” said Wilhelm.

Wilhelm said she received a lot of support from volunteers in the community to ensure that these tournaments could run smoothly. Next yea,r she hopes that they can help the tournaments run in a shorter amount of time so that people can still enjoy the other activities happening at the park.

“We already have people in mind or people who have committed to help run those events next year as well, so that we can keep them running smooth and organized,” she said.

Kids zone activities were part of the afternoon, where they host free games that kids can participate in to stay engaged. One of the games they played this year was similar to musical chairs, but with cones, which became so popular that an adult round was implemented.

“I think we definitely are going to bring that back next year and try and find more things that kids and their parents can participate in,” said Wilhelm.

The Fourth of July celebration had live local performances as well from the Othello Huskies junior cheer squad, Othello High School cheer squad, and from performers at the Dance Sette Studio. Local music groups such as Paso Firme, which was back for the second year, the Bethel Assembly of God, Lakeside Players from Moses Lake and a new group called Grupo Seta all had live music performances on stage at Lions Park.

Wilhelm said for future events, she wants to put a greater emphasis on highlighting military and veterans for their service and what makes the Fourth of July special.

“Yes, it’s a huge party for the year, but at the same time, there’s so much meaning and heart behind it and I’m trying to incorporate more of that so the younger generations can understand what the Fourth of July really means,” said Wilhelm. “It’s because of everyone who has sacrificed for our country, so moving forward, doing the flag raising ceremony and the flag lowering ceremony, those are to me the most important parts of the day.”

    People attending the Fourth of July celebration at Lions Park gather around the various vendors present. Othello Chamber Manager Jackie Wilhelm said this year saw ten additional vendors.
  

    A restored classic fire engine drives by during the Othello Fourth of July parade. The parade featured a fleet of fire trucks, police cars and EMS vehicles all driven by local personnel.
  

    A volleyball player in the tournament serves the ball at Lions Park on July 4. There were tournaments for soccer, basketball and volleyball with volleyball having the highest turnout.
  

    Othello Huskies cheerleading squad makes their way down the street during the Fourth of July parade. Huskies junior and high school cheer teams also performed on stage at Lions Park during the Fourth of July celebration.
  

    The Kent family rides in a large wagon decked out in red, white and blue during the Othello Fourth of July parade. This year’s parade had the highest number of entries and longest duration compared to previous years.