A young girl with Okamoto's School of Karate shouts, “Happy Fourth of July” to festival goers as she walks in Anchorage’s Fourth of July parade on Tuesday, July 4, 2023. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
In celebration of Independence Day, hundreds of people lined West Ninth Avenue near downtown Anchorage on Tuesday to watch the parade and join in on festivities along the Delaney Park Strip.
Local clubs and organizations were represented in this year’s parade, including the Alaska Association of Figure Skating, Lions Club and Pacific Island Communities of Anchorage.
Across the park, Brayden Black, holding a small American flag in one hand, joined Toni Redfox as she danced by herself effervescently. After a quick photo and a laugh, the pair parted ways into an abyss of patriotic attire and the smell of freshly-grilled reindeer dogs.
See more photos from Anchorage’s Fourth of July parade and festival below.
A young child runs through a field of American flags set up at the Delaney Park Strip. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
Nahria Magloire waves an American flag as she stands with her grandmother, sister and cousin while they watch the parade. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
Bags of cotton candy for sale hang from a line under a vendor’s tent. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
People watching Anchorage’s Fourth of July parade take photos of Star the Reindeer. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
A man waves while participating in Anchorage’s Fourth of July parade with the Lions Club near downtown. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
Chloe, a five-year-old Shih Tzu-Pomeranian mix, is decked out in American attire and accessories. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
Brooks Finnegan, almost four years old, smiles to his dad below as he jumps on a trampoline during Anchorage’s Fourth of July Festival. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
Women dance and wave American flags while participating in Anchorage’s Fourth of July parade near downtown on Tuesday. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
People smile to the crowd as they participate in Anchorage’s Fourth of July parade along W. Ninth Avenue. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
People wave from a parade float to attendees gathered on the sidewalk along Delaney Park Strip. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
People embrace and wave American flags as they watch a parade during Anchorage’s Fourth of July Festival. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
Nahlia Magloire covers her ears as a vehicle in Anchorage’s Fourth of July parade revs its engine. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
People walk around Anchorage’s Fourth of July Festival at the Delaney Park Strip near downtown on Tuesday, July 4, 2023. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
Emily Mesner is a multimedia journalist for the Anchorage Daily News. She previously worked for the National Park Service at Denali National Park and Preserve and the Western Arctic National Parklands in Kotzebue, at the Cordova Times and at the Jackson Citizen Patriot in Jackson, Michigan.