Friends and neighbors

Riding in pink and purple convertible toy Cadillac Escalade covered in American flags, 7-year-old Alyssa Miro led the Newport’s 37th annual Independence Day Parade and Celebration at Mariners Park on Saturday.

Riding bicycles and scooters bedecked with red, white and blue streamers and tinsel and riding in flag-laden wagons, children and parents marched down the street during the parade on Saturday morning, followed by a carnival in Mariners Park. Proceeds from the event will go to fund educational programs at Mariners Elementary School.

Wearing a red-white and blue ensemble topped with a foot-tall Uncle Sam-style top hat, Alyssa’s great-grandfather, Don Dickey, also participated in the parade.

“Its a great tradition and it’s what this country is all about,” Dickey said of the parade. “What better way to teach children about love for their country than to have them get out once a year and wave flags and go to a parade.”

Alyssa was the third generation of her family to participate in the Fourth of July parade and celebration — Dickey, a Newport Beach native, has memories of taking his children to ride their bikes in the parade when the celebration first started some 37 years ago.

Costa Mesa residents Drew and Meri Graham paraded with their 2-year-old son, Alexander, during the event, along with two Boston Terrier pups named Dixie and Belle.

“It’s a lot of fun because we just moved back here, and we get to see people that we knew 10 years ago,” said Drew Graham.

The Fourth of July celebration also included a rock-climbing wall and a bungee jump run and a 28-foot slide, along with arts and crafts booths.

Proceeds from the event will go toward the Mariners Elementary School Foundation, which helps plan the event each year.

Organizers estimated Saturday the celebration would bring in about $200,000 for the foundation, said Mike Huntley, president of the Mariners Elementary School Foundation.

The money from the Independence Day Celebration goes to fund educational programs and buy learning materials at Mariners Elementary. This year the foundation plans to buy new computers for the school, Huntley said.

“We have an amazing team of volunteers,” said Huntley, who has helped plan the event for the past five years. “It’s become a tradition to kick off the Fourth every year and you get to meet people from around the neighborhood doing something like this — 10,000 of my closest friends and neighbors.”

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