A Catonsville Fourth of July

Like Ron Burgundy, Catonsville's annual Fourth of July celebration is "kind of a big deal." Local residents place their chairs along Frederick Road a week or more before the parade, which this year featured 50 floats and 18 bands. The latter included entries from North Carolina and Nashville, so any place we could call "home" was represented in the parade. For me, there was no better place to be on the Fourth than in the place I still consider my true home.

Altogether, Catonsville's celebration cost $100,000, and was entirely funded by community donations. No stimulus money here.

Here's a quick rundown - including photos and video - of the weekend's activities:











It's a short walk from "Pop-Pop's" to Pete and Michele's house, the two places we spent the most time during our weekend visit. Somehow we managed to get Emily, Lindsay, and Madelyn to smile for the picture above without any of their favorite funny "style" poses.

Since we drove to Catonsville on Thursday night, we had time on Friday to visit Rollingwood Pool. Aunt Erica kept the girls entertained poolside and chatted with Michele; meanwhile, I took to the water and alternated between the roles of personal flotation device and springboard. You can see Emily and I demonstrating the difference between a regular pose and a "style" pose in the pictures above.

Pete and Dad also participated in their fair share of pool activities, which - as you can see in the video below - wore them out.




When we were done at the pool we dined at Shannon's, where Madelyn enjoyed some ice cream.








Saturday - the Fourth - started with kids games at Catonsville High School.

Aunt Erica and Uncle Matt overslept a bit, but the extra rest served me well as I claimed first place in the parents' sack race. If anyone had realized that I'm not actually a parent I could've been disqualified and stripped of my medal. As it is, I own the title for the next year. Pete gracefully bowed out of the race when they ran out of sacks, although some might (fairly) suggest he didn't need much convincing to pass up the race.

As for the actual kids at the kids games, Emily participated in a variety of competitions, including a "leap frog" effort with her her cousin Matthew. Ryan also made an appearance and received hearty cheers from his proud aunt and uncle.




















The afternoon featured Catonsville's newest Fourth of July tradition, the Duesenberg's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Unfortunately, I learned about the event after the registration deadline had already passed.

I'm pretty sure I could've beaten the 11 hot dogs in 10 minutes that earned first place in the competition; I'm less sure that I could've beaten Michele's dad, Mr. Dave, given how quickly he devoured his dog in our post-contest photo.










The parade kicked off at three o'clock, and we came prepared with signs, pictures, and costumes to celebrate Squire Frederick's appearance in his official role as Baltimore County Town Crier. You can get the full rundown, including video of the Squire hard at work, on dad's website - SquireFrederick.com.

We were all so focused on my dad that we missed Maryland's governor, who walked in front of him. From what my dad tells me, the governor needed some love after all the boos he heard along the parade route.



Our post-parade activities included a cook-out with Michele's family. Erica and I enjoyed some downtime, but the post-parade enthusiasm was hard to miss. In the video above, Pete and Michele's niece, Sierra, teaches me a dance routine she picked up from watching the Edmonson Steppers make their way down Frederick Road.

Finally, no Catonsville Fourth of July would be complete without the fireworks display. Space was limited given the construction at the high school, so Pete and I reserved what was likely our best-ever viewing spot by putting down a tarp in the morning. The view didn't entirely go to waste, but I know of at least three little girls who missed a good show.















Crane your neck to the side and see some of what these sound sleepers missed in the video below.