After young Santa Cruz Mountains resident Brayan Francis belted out a rousing rendition of the “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Bobbie Ward, the owner of Performance Vocals—who once sang for President Ronald Reagan—kicked off Scotts Valley’s Fourth of July festivities Sunday: “Alright, let’s get this parade started!”
Eight planes crisscrossed the afternoon sky as floats turned onto Scotts Valley Drive, throwing candy, firing T-shirt cannonballs and handing out coupons.
“Thank you Donna!” yelled one reveler as City Councilwoman Donna Lind, lead organizer of the event, drove by in a sporty grey convertible.
She couldn’t help but tear up.
“I just felt like the community wanted to have it,” Lind said. “I couldn’t have hoped for a better response.”
From an army jeep decked out with a machine gun, to a classic surf-mobile with a yellow single fin strapped to the roof, to farmers driving tractors, all manner of vehicles took part.
The Stevens family—grandparents Jack and Erika, grandson Jace, and great-grandparents Gigi and “Papa Bull”—said it was like old times again.
“We’ve been coming here quite a few years,” Jack said. “Dude, we finally get to get out and do something.”
“What’s up?” Scotts Valley resident Scarlet Martin, 32, yelled at the Paperback Ryders, a band playing guitars, drums and a stand-up bass behind a large white pickup, adding, “That truck is frickin’ sweet!”
The acoustic rock group on the trailer was the third kick at the can for organizers trying to secure a musical act. The first band—made up of high schoolers—was scouted at a local battle-of-the-bands competition, but fell through at the last minute.
A college-aged group agreed to play, but bowed out when they learned the driver, Eugene Bustichi, had decorated the mobile performance platform with “Thin Blue Line” and “Thin Red Line” flags, citing the controversial nature of the symbols, Lind said. She added that it wasn’t the only float emblazoned with the symbols originally created to support police and firefighters that, for some, took on a different meaning during last year’s Black Lives Matter protests.
Bustichi said his intention was to honor the country, as well as first responders.
“For some people I guess it’s controversial,” he said, adding the band never asked if he could remove the flags. “For some people the American flag is controversial.”
Bustichi said he enjoyed the event and his grandkids did, too.
“It’s the first time I’ve been in a parade since the 1970s,” he said. “I think it was needed. It was like medicine for everyone.”
Scotts Valley Chief of Police Steve Walpole took in the crowd of about 3,000-3,500 in an old ‘67 Ford police cruiser.
“It went smooth,” he said. “I think we had more participants than we’ve had in the past few years.”
No arrests were made during the parade, and calls for service were down from previous years, Walpole said.
Long-time Scotts Valley Parks and Recreation Department employee Kristin Ard, who planned the event alongside Lind while undergoing cancer treatment, was able to walk in the parade and helped carry a banner.
Boulder Creek Reggae
Up in Boulder Creek, at the Bear Creek Pool, the community held a reggae concert, with swimming, craft beer and artisans under the redwoods.
Microtiger, Big Trees and What’s Good all performed.
Sarah Bartos, 34, the owner of Woodland Floral and Creations, who recently moved here from Utah, enjoyed getting to know her neighbors.
“I’m so honored,” she said of being accepted to table at the event. “I know everyone has had a struggle over the past year-and-a-half.”
She was referring not only to the lockdowns, but also the fires that devastated the San Lorenzo Valley.
Timothy Stixrud, the 46-year-old who rode to the outdoor venue on bales of hay, knows this all too well. His house burned down, and his truck melted, as the CZU Lightning Complex Fire swept through.
“It was so dark and dismal,” he said. “I lost everything.”
He’s still trying to find a local place to call home again, but as the off-beat chords and reverberating snare sounds rang out, he was smiling.
“To see a lot of these faces, it means a lot to me,” he said.
