Othello celebrates Patriot's Day in red, white and blue style

OTHELLO - Shades of green, purple and yellow shined down over Old Glory's red, white and blue Wednesday as Othello celebrated the nation's 236th birthday.

"It's a nice, calm family time," said Alex Gonzalez, of Othello. "Plus I get a day off of work."

Events started early yesterday morning for Othello's annual Patriot's Day celebration, with a pancake feed, three-on-three basketball tournament, and the annual Run for America all beginning around 8 a.m.

A roughly 40-minute parade followed, with floats ranging from fire and ambulance squads, to rodeo queens, to military, and basically everything in between.

And, of course, there was plenty of sweets tossed to children.

"My kids always have fun catching the candy that's usually thrown," Othello's Kimberly Salazar said.

Rhiannon Reno, also of Othello, said her favorite parts of the parade were the horses and army equipment.

"It's really fun to come out," Reno, who has attended Patriot's Day 12 times - one for each of her 12 years, said.

Before the fireworks display several events went down at Lions Park, including a car show, talent and dance shows, a battle of the bands and more.

Just after dusk, fireworks lit the sky ablaze.

"Fireworks are my favorite part," Gonzalez said. "Fireworks are always fun, and they've gotten over the years here. Back in the day it seems like they were quicker, but now they're a little longer and a lot better."

Manual Martinez, of Othello, also said that the fireworks have been his favorite part of Independence Day.

That, and "just hanging out and watching all the cool things that go by. My boy, he likes it quite a bit," he said.

Martinez' son, Xavier, celebrates his first birthday today, one day after fireworks were lit.