{"id":61676,"date":"2020-07-04T09:08:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-04T17:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/parade-held-in-mendenhall-valley\/"},"modified":"2020-07-04T09:08:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-04T17:08:00","slug":"parade-held-in-mendenhall-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/parade-held-in-mendenhall-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"Parade held in Mendenhall Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t

The coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of many Fourth of July events, but Juneauites who wanted to gather and celebrate the holiday, despite public health concerns, had an option in the Mendenhall Valley.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Dozens of vehicles, several cyclists and a few people on foot completed Saturday morning a festive and unpermitted circuit that began and finished at the Nugget Mall. Clusters of people — and a few pets — lined the sides of Crest Street to gather handfuls of candy thrown from the passing cars and see the vehicles decorated for the holiday finish the parade.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

\"Jax<\/a>

Jax wears patriotic garb while waiting for a parade to make its way down Crest Street Saturday, July 4, 2020. (Ben Hohenstatt | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

“It’s a little bit more than I expected,” said parade organizer Ray Rusaw of attendance during a pre-parade interview.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Rusaw said he wasn’t sure exactly how many people participated in the event.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t