Redwood City celebrates old-fashioned Fourth

Redwood City's population tops 75,000 people. It is home to the computer software behemoth Oracle. The median-priced home sells for more than $800,000.

But Sunday the feel was small-town and old-fashioned as crowds lined downtown streets to cheer on the city's 71st annual Fourth of July parade.

As the Bay Area found ways to celebrate a holiday that doubles as a social high point of the summer, there were more than a dozen parades in communities as disparate as Martinez, Sonoma and Sausalito. The Redwood City event may be the largest - and a vivid example of the easygoing energy that turns such events into traditions.

There were 130 official entries in the parade, which started promptly at 10 a.m. with a color guard from the U.S. Navy's Commander Submarine Group in Alameda. The last turned onto Brewster Avenue at 11:35 a.m., a flag- and bunting-covered tow truck from Porta's Auto Body.

The most colorful float might have been the one pulled by a Ford Fiesta topped by a giant bumblebee: a blue butterfly hovered above flowers that served as seating for four young girls.

"Every year, they moan about how they're going to be in the sun, but the kids love it," said David Ingram, driver of the Fiesta. He was among the volunteers from the Church of Scientology mission in Redwood City who worked on and off for two weeks to build and decorate the float, which bore the motto "Help take care of our planet."

The 1.25-mile route was lined by thousands of viewers, with the largest crowds in the blocks near downtown's theater district and an after-parade festival. They cheered for the City Council members in vintage cars and Police Chief Louis Cobarruviaz, who stood in uniform waving from a flatbed truck where a combo played blues shuffles. Cub Scout troops and little leaguers were heavily represented.

High spirits draw applause

The most spirited applause, though, came for the most spirited paraders - such as the hula-hoop troupe of Major Hoopers, or float-bound anti-littering rappers from the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula.

Another hit: the Los Trancos Woods Community Marching Band, which charged through staples of Americana while clad in clothing that stretched variations of the national flag across places where Betsy Ross never intended a flag to go.

"What a phenomenal audience response this year!" gushed longtime band member Gail Cannis of Portola Valley, wearing striped red-and-white tights. "This was fantastic!"

As the band prepared for its finale of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before heading to the Broadway Bar to serenade veterans, manager Jim Harvey was asked how often the members practice. "Every April," he responded. "Whether we need it or not."

Social gatherings

The holiday also was a social occasion for Bay Area residents who skipped parades for block parties or family barbecues.

Others focused on fireworks - some in municipally sanctioned events, others in usually quiet backyards.

While most cities in the region ban the sale of fireworks, they're still allowed in San Bruno. For the week leading up to the Fourth, various stands operated by local charities were doing a brisk business in sparklers, Piccolo Petes and more combustible products that pass muster as "safe and sane."

"We'll have barbecue, hang out and wet down the big cement patio," said Russell Gernaat of Redwood City, who spent $35 on fireworks with his son Casey, 13, at a stand in the parking lot of Tanforan shopping center. "We go for the noisy ones, mostly."

E-mail John King at jking@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle