This year will be the return of the Fourth of July Parade and the 5K Run/Walk benefitting Midway Shelter. The Alameda Police Department notified residents on its Facebook page of street closures to accommodate the events.

This year, Mayor Trish Spencer has chosen not one, but four grand women to be the Grand Marshals for the 2017 Alameda Fourth of July parade: Ginny Krutilek, Joyce Denyven, Gretchen Lipow and Weezie Mott.

Every month, with wheelbarrow at the ready, I toddle over to a fine local independent pharmacy to pick up a large order of prescription medicines. 

Local historians Dennis Evanosky and Julia Park Tracey teamed up to take part in the July Fourth parade last year. Evanosky, who is also the co-publisher of the Alameda Sun, will join the parade again this year.

Putting a parade of more than 150 entrants together requires the patience, passion and expertise of several local volunteers. 

Each year, the Mayor’s Fourth of July extravaganza attracts some 20,000 spectators, or roughly one-third of the city’s population.

ABC newscaster Michael Finney, a former Alameda resident, is the Grand Marshall at this year’s Alameda Mayor’s Fourth of July Parade. He is well known in the Bay Area for his 7 On Your Side reports on ABC7 News and his Consumer Talk radio show on radio KGO.

With the Fourth of July rapidly approaching, community members should be aware of the many assocated no parking restrictions and street closures due to take effect a week from tomorrow.