Celebrations Alaska Style



4th of July Parade - Wrangell



4th of July Barbecue



We joined with locals to watch the 4^th of July parade along the streets of Wrangell, I think we were the only two with umbrellas in the crowd.  Even though it was a soggy day, the parade continued as scheduled and food vendors were in full swing, a hardy bunch of people.  A few floats consisting of decorated trucks along with Native drummers, a baseball team, bagpipes, the boy scouts, and of course horses with the requisite pooper scooper, paraded four blocks down main street - short and sweet with lots of enthusiasm.  We then ducked under the tent out of the rain for some great barbecued chicken, corn on the cob, and potato salad.  After the festivities, we visited the Chief Shakes Clanhouse on Shakes Island next to the city harbor.  In 1940, the CCC’s reconstructed the clanhouse along with several totem poles.  The island and tribal house were named for a series of chiefs, all named Shakes, several of whom had lived on Shakes Island.  The Tlingit’s of Wrangell had moved to the island from their original village site on the Zimovia Strait (south of Wrangell) to be closer to the Russian trading post of Redoubt St. Dionsius; the clanhouse is a reconstruction of a Tlingit longhouse/clanhouse.  We returned to the boat for dinner just as the rain had stopped.  The day finished with an impressive 30-minute fireworks display, which we watched from our boat at the marina – the sounds echoed through the bay and the light reflected on the water.



Native Drummers in Parade



Shakes Clanhouse with Small Security Door



Elaborate Panel in Shakes Clanhouse



Beautiful Carvings in Shakes Clanhouse



Totems on Shakes Island

Fireworks Display