{"id":914264,"date":"2026-07-05T14:17:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T14:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/914264\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T14:17:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T14:17:15","slug":"thousands-turn-out-in-coronado-to-celebrate-nations-250th-birthday-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/914264\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands turn out in Coronado to celebrate nation\u2019s 250th birthday \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It was no accident that Rob and Christina Paul were planted on a pair of lawn chairs at the corner of First Street and Orange Avenue long before the 77th annual Independence Day Parade stepped off in Coronado on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n<p>The couple from Encanto got up early and took the ferry over from downtown San Diego and set up camp at the foot of the historic Fourth of July celebration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the birthday of the greatest nation in the history of the world,\u201d said Rob Paul, a U.S. Navy veteran who now dabbles in real estate sales. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing that this republic has been in existence for this long. Hopefully, it will stay that way for the next 250 years \u2014 and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"With a USS Midway inflatable in tow, the Cameron Highlanders march during the Independence Day parade at Coronado on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)\" width=\"2880\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-CORONADO-PARADE-003.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"9953369\" \/>With a USS Midway inflatable in tow, the Cameron Highlanders march during the Independence Day parade at Coronado on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n<p>The Pauls were two of thousands of people who flocked to the Crown City on Saturday to celebrate the semiquincentennial of America\u2019s founding.<\/p>\n<p>Crowds began arriving well in advance of the 10 a.m. parade start time, lining the length of Orange Avenue. They brought blankets and chairs and flags and drinks. They wore all manner of red, white and blue and toasted the anniversary that marks two and a half centuries.<\/p>\n<p>Haley Canaday didn\u2019t have far to walk; she and her 10-year-old daughter Sunshine have lived in Coronado for several years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is our third year,\u201d said Canaday, who was wearing American flag overalls, red and blue bows in her hair and dangling earrings that spelled out U.S.A. \u201cI\u2019m celebrating the People\u2019s America \u2014 the immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, Black, White and everything in-between.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Canaday said this year\u2019s observance was more special than most.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope that everyone honors what our country was founded on; love and unity are the only way to move forward,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>No fewer than five separate renditions of \u201cThe Star-Spangled Banner\u201d were performed every other block along Orange Avenue as the festivities got underway, with listeners stopping and removing their caps for each rendition to pay tribute to a nearby American flag.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mng-gallery-initialized mng-gallery-slider\">\n<li data-index=\"1\" class=\"mng-ge mng-gallery-active\" id=\"mng-ge-0\" aria-hidden=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A flyover at the start of the the Independence Day...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-CORONADO-PARADE-007-1.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>A flyover at the start of the the Independence Day parade at Coronado on Saturday, July 4. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"2\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"People stand during the national anthem. (Kristian Carreon \/ The...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-CORONADO-PARADE-002-1.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>People stand during the national anthem. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"3\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Before the start of the Independence Day parade, William Burns,...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-CORONADO-PARADE-001-1.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>Before the start of the  Independence Day parade, William Burns, 9, throws a football. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"4\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A man dressed in an American-themed steampunk outfit poses during...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-CORONADO-PARADE-013-1.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>A man dressed in an American-themed steampunk outfit poses during the Independence Day parade. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"5\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-4\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Jerome Paquette, 75, wears an American-themed outfit. (Kristian Carreon \/...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-CORONADO-PARADE-006-1.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>Jerome Paquette, 75, wears an American-themed outfit. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Show Caption<\/p>\n<p>1 of 5<\/p>\n<p>A flyover at the start of the the Independence Day parade at Coronado on Saturday, July 4. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\">Expand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The event opened a few minutes after 10 a.m. with a flyover of four military planes soaring over Orange Avenue in a diamond formation. The audience on the ground let loose with cheering gasps and claps.<\/p>\n<p>Others took advantage of the crowds \u2014 and a high sun \u2014 to exercise one of the founding tenets of America: capitalism.<\/p>\n<p>One company was offering commemorative T-shirts for $30, ballcaps for $35 and sweatshirts for $70. Ana Puig was less ambitious. She and her 7-year-old daughter built a red, white and blue cardboard vending machine and were selling bags of popcorn for $2 and bottled water for $1.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are trying to teach the kids how to make money and work hard,\u201d Puig said between customers. \u201cWe are showing them that all are welcome, how to build community and that everybody has a different background but has the freedom to make a good life.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mng-gallery-initialized mng-gallery-slider\">\n<li data-index=\"1\" class=\"mng-ge mng-gallery-active\" id=\"mng-ge-0\" aria-hidden=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Riley Schmidt, 12, gets some air from an American-themed ramp...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-CORONADO-PARADE-018.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>Riley Schmidt, 12, gets some air from an American-themed ramp during the Independence Day parade. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"2\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"People watch vehicles pass by. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-CORONADO-PARADE-009.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>People watch vehicles pass by. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"3\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A classic MG vehicle is shown decorated with American flags....\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-CORONADO-PARADE-004-1.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>A classic MG vehicle is shown decorated with American flags. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"4\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Members of the Coronado Ukulele Club participate in the Independence...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-CORONADO-PARADE-011-1.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>Members of the Coronado Ukulele Club participate in the Independence Day parade at Coronado on Saturday. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"5\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-4\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Navy Band Southwest performs during the Independence Day parade....\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-CORONADO-PARADE-015-1.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>The Navy Band Southwest performs during the Independence Day parade. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"6\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Drummers of the Cameron Highlanders participate in the Independence Day...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SUT-L-CORONADO-PARADE-012-1.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>Drummers of the Cameron Highlanders participate in the Independence Day parade at Coronado. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Show Caption<\/p>\n<p>1 of 6<\/p>\n<p>Riley Schmidt, 12, gets some air from an American-themed ramp during the Independence Day parade. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\">Expand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The parade itself featured all manner of entries: military color guards, fire trucks blasting sirens, walking bands, beauty queens on horseback and vintage cars. And of course, there were elected officials waving to voters from the back seats of convertibles.<\/p>\n<p>Watching everything from his perch in Rotary Park, at the corner of Isabella and Orange avenues, stood 92-year-old Douglas Deauzat.<\/p>\n<p>The former Navy engineer said he enrolled in college after two decades of military service and became a forensics expert and crime lab technician. He said every Fourth of July is a feat to be cherished, but witnessing the nation\u2019s 250th birthday was almost unreal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a great thing because you get to see the people pull together, and that\u2019s the way it\u2019s supposed to be,\u201d Deauzat said. \u201cIt\u2019s sort of a magic number. I probably won\u2019t be here for the 275th.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was no accident that Rob and Christina Paul were planted on a pair of lawn chairs at&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":914265,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,17535,728,50,3549,3550,7264,7289,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-914264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-america","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-coronado","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-county","tag-sandiego","tag-top-stories-sdut","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116867804594710993","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=914264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/914265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=914264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=914264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=914264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}