Picto Diary - 04 July 2023 - Provo Parade, Midway Fireworks

Above: South 400 East. Provo, Utah. 04 July 2023. How to see the whole Provo 4th of July Parade which begins at 9:00 AM, leaving Park City at 8:45 AM, and arriving at the tail end of the parade route at 9:55 AM. South 400 East. Half block from east Center Street parade route. Car could cover the same distance in the same amount of time, but no parking within half mile of spot where Duc is parked, ergo miss the parade.

Above: Governor Cox. Provo 4th of July Parade. 04 July 2023.

Ahead, Utah Highway Patrol motards. Cox's convertible is bracketed by four black shirted security officers assiduously scanning the crowd. I haven't seen Utah officials with such visible security before. Cox has raised the ire of some Utah conservatives by his advocacy for pronoun flexibility. He also refused to sign a bill which prohibited transgender men from competing in women's sports. That bill was overridden by the state legislature.

Above: American Fork High School Marching Band. Provo, UT 4th of July Parade. 04 July 2023.

By a quantum amount the superior marching band of eight or so in the parade.

Above: LDS Missionaries. Provo 4th of July Parade. 04 July 2023.

The missionary entry received by far the loudest applause from the parade attendees. I have been critical of religious groups which use parades as an active mode of proselytizing. LBGTQ groups in past Park City 4th of July parades have passed out small pride flags to kids, for example. Religious groups in parades are fine. Using the parade as a pretext for proselytizing is not. The equivalent wrong in today's Provo parade would be, say, missionaries passing out Books of Mormon to the parade goers, which didn't occur.

Above: Military vehicles. Provo, UT 4th of July parade. Provo, UT. 04 July 2023.

Pictured is one of four or five military vehicle entries in the parade. I assume, considering the military is falling far short of recruiting goals that exhibits like this are meant to convey positive images of the military. More than one veteran friend has told me that they would not encourage their grandchildren to join today's military which is steeped in woke ideology.

Above: Beauty Queens. Provo 4th of July Parade. Provo, UT. 04 July 2023.
There were several floats like this one from Pleasant Grove. It was good to see traditional, unabashed, and correct reaffirmations of gender distinction in the parade.

Above: 73 North 500 East. Provo, UT. Provo, UT 4th of July Parade. 04 July 2023.

I lived in this Dutch Modern home from 1953 to 1965. The home was Mom's pride and joy. Circa 1966, Dad and Mom built a new home in the Oak Hills neighborhood of Provo, but Mom always said that the pictured home and neighborhood was her favorite.

Above: Fireworks, Memorial Hill, Midway, UT. 04 July 2023.

This is our third year running in attending the fabulous Midway fireworks exhibit. TIMDT and Mwah (sic) were joined by Koessler's family.

Addendum

Sorry l was unable to attend the class reunion. I was at an educator conference in Orlando. Someday l might truly retire from my profession. You and l could have had a rousing political discussion that evening. 😄

Academy Theater,
Salt Lake City