Piedmont preps for pancakes, parade, picnics on July Fourth

Get a load of a partial grocery list for this year’s pancake breakfast that precedes the 57th annual Piedmont 4th of July Parade and Picnic: 60 pounds of pancake mix, 3 gallons of syrup, 36 bottles of orange juice, 4 pounds of whipped butter, 720 sausages, 16 pounds of grapes, 24 pounds of strawberries, 6 pounds of blueberries, 13 melons, 10 pounds of regular coffee and 3 pounds of decaf.

Hosted and served by the youth members and volunteer adults of the Piedmont Community Service Crew, the breakfast receives generous sponsorship donations from Piedmont Grocery, Village Market and Starbucks. The service event is the primary fundraiser for the youth-led organization that for two decades has used the proceeds to support some of its major projects such as building tiny homes for unhoused people and other annual activities that benefit local and distant communities.

The breakfast is perfect fuel for the events afterward (piedmont.ca.gov/news/events/4th-of-july-parade), which will include the parade starting at 11 a.m. and running roughly eight blocks along Highland Avenue. At the parade’s finish line is Piedmont Park, where the city’s 4th of July Committee Chair Kathy Kelleher says live music and family fun will prevail until 3 p.m.

Asked in an interview if the longtime parade attendee and organizer will continue her winning streak as committe chair up to and beyond the 60th annual parade, Kelleher says, “Sure thing. I’ll stick around. I love it. We have great people on the committee. We have a team that works well together and with city staff.”

Echa Schneider, Piedmont’s communications program manager, noted separately that “Recreation Director Chelle Putzer, Recreation Supervisor Eva Phalen and Administrative Assistant Cora Wood worked with the 4th of July Committee to plan the event. The Public Works, Police, Fire and Recreation department teams are out in force the day-of supporting logistics and safety.”

Kelleher said choosing the parade theme, which this year is “Small Town, Big Spirit,” was not difficult. Picked in March from about 10 ideas the committee had brainstormed, Kelleher said, “There’s no magic to it; it just fits. The parade shows large enthusiasm in this one small community.”

Creating and organizing the parade and block parties some neighborhoods hold was also simple, largely due to the fact that many committee members have been involved for years, if not decades.

“We know when letters go out, how to divide and conquer the tasks, when to chase after people who fill out the forms to participate in the parade to remind them they have to plan for lining up,” she said.

Committee member Roland Lazzorotto supervises the parade’s lineup and logistics. He makes sure two musical groups are never placed together, cars and community groups that include young children are ordered with safety in mind and reminds pet brigades to make sure the pavement is not overheated or to bring protective paw coverage.

Kelleher is particularly excited about the results of the community float-building projects this year.

“The smallest street in Piedmont, Holly Place, is doing a float that’s the Key Line Station. It was an old train stop near them that used to run through Piedmont. There are floats from community bands, a dog group of pugs, the Tutu School of Montclair students, the Wednesday Walkers and a float with all robots built by high school kids. The new Oakland Roots soccer team will have some of their players walking too, probably in their uniforms.”

At the park, soprano Amy McKenzie will sing America’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” at the end of the parade. McKenzie grew up in Piedmont and attended the city’s schools. Before serving as a member of the San Francisco Opera Chorus from 2002 to 2013 and as a soloist from 1998 to 2018 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Berkeley, McKenzie was a charter member of the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir.

“She has a marvelous voice and will set just the right tone to close out the parade and begin the other music events,” Kelleher says of McKenzie.

A new band, The Cheeseballs, will appear as the headline act during the community picnic.

“They’re a high-energy dance band based in San Francisco and well known across the Bay Area for their fun, funky performances,” the city’s Schneider says. “We’re thrilled to be bringing them to Piedmont’s 4th of July celebration for the first time. They’ll take the stage around 12:30 p.m. and play until 3.”

Although the number of community floats has dwindled since the time when Kelleher’s father and neighborhood buddy launched the first parade when she was 5 years old, Kelleher says the celebration continues to bring the community together.

“We have more two-earner families, and building a float takes a couple of solid weekends, so it’s a matter of getting supplies, coordinating schedules and, mostly, finding the time. Even so, we didn’t have any group request the $500 stipend we put out as an incentive. It seems like people work around the obstacles,” she says.

That means if the plans for enough groceries to feed about 450 hungry pancake eaters underestimates the actual numbers, the Piedmont Community Service Crew’s “small town, big spirit” will activate and everyone will scramble to fill the plates.

“This celebration is not just about pancakes and parades, it’s about tradition,” Kelleher says. “Gathering the community without division is the whole point.”

Lou Fancher is a freelance writer. Reach her at lou@johnsonandfancher.com.