We hit all the right notes for a good old-fashioned, small-town Fourth of July this year, starting the long weekend off with a baseball game on Friday night. The Medford Rogues Baseball Club is a wooden-bat, summer collegiate baseball club that provides family- and budget-friendly entertainment while also supporting local youth and nonprofit organizations by raising awareness and funds. We made our way to the Harry & David Field in south Medford on a hot summer evening, finding (free) parking and a spot in the general admission bleachers (10 bucks a pop!) on the third-base line just after the 6:30 first pitch. The layout allows kids to roam freely, as parents can keep an eye on them throughout the stadium, and concessions are reasonably priced, so there are always plenty of families in attendance. There’s always some sort of contest between innings which allows fans to win a giveaway from a local business, and the baseball is pretty entertaining, too!

Once the game ended and the kids in attendance were allowed onto the field to run the bases and get autographs from the players (a big deal for my young grandsons), we sat back in the cooling dusk to await the fireworks. Launching from just beyond the right field fence, they provided the perfect punctuation to a fun evening; we enjoyed 20 minutes of quality pyrotechnics accompanied by patriotic tunes and the ooohs and ahhhs of the crowd.

We enjoyed beautiful weather (though a little on the hot side) through the weekend and time with family, as my younger daughter’s family visited from Portland, and then celebrated a very traditional Fourth. Our little town of Central Point always hosts an early-morning fun run, the Boy Scouts serve up a pancake breakfast, and then the parade commences, running from the high school to the main drag, where folks set out their lawn chairs and blankets to hold a prime spot, days in advance. We always manage to find a good spot, usually with a little shade, just by walking up a half hour or so before the 9:30 start, and this year was no different.

What made 2023 special, though, was that this would be granddaughter June’s first-ever parade (being a COVID baby). While her older cousins darted into the street to nab the candy thrown by the participants, June delighted in every passing group, be it the high school’s flag troop,   band and cheerleaders  or the equestrian unit with their horses’ hooves painted with glittery red, white and blue “nail polish.”   Her eyes lit up at the swirling skirts of the Hispanic folkloric dance group, and she liked how even the wheels of the gigantic tractor had been decorated with glittering stars (even while the dirt from the fields still clung to them). This is what we love about this little parade: You usually see someone you know marching down the street, and local businesses, from the grocery store   to the construction company, contribute a float or a big, shiny semi. It’s a celebration of our country’s founding as well as communities like ours, which are its foundation.

Once the last entrant had passed by, the street filled with the crowd, kids picking up stray pieces of candy as we made our way to Pfaff Park, a shady, green oasis on this rapidly warming day. Food trucks and vendors’ booths ringed its verges, offering sustenance and everything from jewelry and art to aromatherapy oils and information on nonprofit groups. We planted our chairs under a tree near the bandshell, where musicians entertained the crowd, and the kids made a beeline for the playground.   As I looked about, surrounded by neighbors greeting each other, smiling and chatting, I found Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park” running through my head. It truly was “a real celebration.”

That evening the whole family adjourned to our house for burgers, hot dogs, baked beans and fruit salad, topped off with homemade blackberry (not apple, but just as good!) pie. Some didn’t quite make it to the fireworks, too worn out from our big day in the heat, but it was hard to miss the booms and the (not quite legal) bottle rockets being shot off all around town. Two big (sanctioned) displays provided all the color and glitter one could want, one of them viewed from a park just around the block from our house. What more could one ask for from this ideal Fourth of July?

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor