Independence Day foot race, pancake breakfast and parade return to Kenwood

More than 1,000 people gathered in Kenwood Monday morning to celebrate the return of the annual foot race, pancake breakfast and parade that has marked Independence Day in the town for decades.

Spirits were high among organizers and attendees alike, bolstered by the fact that 2022 marked the first year the celebration could be held since 2019, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I think, because of the pandemic, people were really looking forward to celebrating on the Fourth,” said Jenny Froyd, a volunteer with the Kenwood Community Church who was in charge of running the silent auction in the Plaza Park. “It’s such a Kenwood tradition.”

An hour before the parade kicked off, the approximately 53 participating organizations and clubs were lining up along Los Guilicos Road, straightening ribbons and carefully organizing seating on floats. Fire engines, a float with a Ferris wheel and a host of classic cars were in the lineup.

Down the street at Kenwood Community Church, hungry patrons sought out the pancake breakfast, also put on by church members and volunteers. The proceeds from the event and the silent auction help fund maintenance of the 134-year-old church, and also fund support of other community organizations.

“It’s our only fundraiser of the year,” said Linda Salomon, who managed the pancake breakfast.

The July Fourth event, she said, “brings the community together.”

“I’m seeing a lot of smiles,” Salomon said. “We need this.”

Parade organizers and attendees talked about how the pandemic caused strain by keeping the community from celebrating these past two years. The talk, music and laughter in Kenwood that morning put that hiatus in the past.

There were tributes and signs of the troubles that have crowded onto the world and nation’s stage this year.

At one of the booths in Plaza Park, a blue and yellow flag was hoisted, signaling support for the Ukrainian people on the 130th day since Russia invaded the country. A parade spectator wore a hat that said “Pro-Roe,” a reminder of the seismic June 24 decision by the Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling that provided a constitutional right to abortion care.

Other notes spoke to the resilience of the small Sonoma Valley community. A tractor ridden by one of the parade participants had been partially burned in the 2017 firestorm, an announcer said, and restored.

The familiar voice of Richard Gulson introducing the parade floats as they passed by the judges also hearkened back to the days when he was oversaw Kenwood’s July 4th pillow fights in the mud. The Kenwood Fireman’s Association scrapped the event after 40 years in 2006 due in part to the massive crowds it pulled into the small town.

Jay Gamel, grand marshal of the parade and founder of the Kenwood Press, observed Monday that a large number of people appeared to have come in from nearby towns, given the amount of young children present.

“It felt really good,” to see so many people out, he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Kaylee Tornay at 707-521-5250 or kaylee.tornay@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ka_tornay.