Grand Marshal Stanley Branshaw and other attendees prepare to walk in the Court-Chemeketa Fourth of July Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter)
Neighbors decked out in red, white and blue, took to the streets Friday morning in Salem’s Court-Chemeketa Historic District for their annual Fourth of July Kids’ Parade.
Nearly 100 attendees from the neighborhood and across Salem joined in to celebrate the holiday. Bubbles floated in the air as kids whizzed by on bikes and roller blades, walking from Court Street through McRae Park, and along Chemeketa and 15th streets before looping back to Court.
Rob Owen, 53, has lived in the neighborhood for ten years. Owen believes the parade is at least a twenty-year-old tradition, but he and other neighbors suspect it has been longer.
A group of children hold a sign shortly before the Court-Chemeketa Fourth of July Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter)A girl rides her scooter through bubbles in the Court-Chemeketa Fourth of July Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter)A group of kids sit on a curb after the Court-Chemeketa Fourth of July Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter)A boy plays with a flag while walking in the Court-Chemeketa Fourth of July Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter)A girl runs with her dog during the Court-Chemeketa Fourth of July Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter)A girls eats a popsicle on the lawn after the Court-Chemeketa Fourth of July Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter)Zoe Penney, 7, skates in the Fourth of July Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter)Three girls share snacks following the Court-Chemeketa Fourth of July Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter)Theo Ferrell, 5, pulls a wagon after the Court-Chemeketa Fourth of July Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter)Two girls play in the street before the Court-Chemeketa Fourth of July Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter)Claire Boderman, 5, stands with family after the Court-Chemeketa Fourth of July Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter)A girl eats a snack while sat in the street after the Court-Chemeketa Fourth of July Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. (HAILEY COOK/Salem Reporter)
Have a news tip? Contact reporter Hailey Cook: [email protected] or (208)-515-4097.
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Hailey Cook joined Salem Reporter in 2025, following the completion of an internship through the University of Oregon’s Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism. She works as a reporter and photojournalist, with a focus on business and entertainment, among other topics.
