Head-to-toe stars and stripes decorated a crowd of a few thousand who turned out for what may have been the largest Fourth of July parade in Jackson Hole.
Semiquincentennial parades in other corners of the country were cancelled as temperatures soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. But the mountain town stayed a breezy sub-80. For two hours, a familiar band of community groups, politicians and local businesses rolled through downtown in a blur of waves, honks and candy tosses.
For many young folks, excitement swirled for the same reasons it always does in the annual Independence Day parade.
“I like to celebrate the Fourth of July because you get more candy,” said 8-year old Cain Vazquez.
Teenager Nico Tzompa also stuffed his pockets with sweets from brightly decorated floats.
But the Jackson native added that the crowd gathered for the Fourth was the biggest he’d seen around the historic Town Square.
“There’s more diversity this year, every year it grows,” he said.
The Jackson Police Department didn’t have a crowd estimate, but several who attended said it was also the largest they had seen in at least two decades. (Sophia Boyd-Fliegel / KHOL)
The Jackson Police Department didn’t have a crowd estimate, but several who attended said it was also the largest they had seen in decades. Some said they were traveling from other states to bask in the small-town energy.
And for those those who were old enough to remember the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1976, many said times have changed.
“We were a lot more united as a nation back then,” said Navy veteran Curtis Cheshire, who lives in Wilson.
Not everyone should be expected to get along in a democracy, said Jacksonite David Loevner.
But it does require “civility and constant attention to the general welfare as opposed to individual welfare,” he said, values he thinks are lacking.
Recent research from Syracuse University shows that Americans “increasingly see the country as more divided than at any time since the Civil War.”
But they didn’t have televised soccer back then.
The nation’s big anniversary aligned with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in which the United States has fielded what commentators are calling the best team in generations, possibly ever, for the host nation.
Jerseys featuring the last name of star midfielder Christian Pulisic dotted Saturday’s crowd.
Jon Pillon said the soccer frenzy stoked his patriotism.
“Anybody that comes to America is an American, and I think that unique aspect of our nation is pretty cool,” he said.
The United States plays Belgium tonight at 6 p.m. MST in Seattle.
