Thursday, July 2, 2026

Historic Highlands’ Fourth of July Stays Small on Purpose, and Turns 32

In the year the nation marks 250, Historic Highlands organizers say they want a block party, not a production

There are no corporate banners at the Historic Highlands Fourth of July, no sponsored stage and no ticket app — and the volunteers who run it say that is the point.

As the country marks its 250th birthday, this Pasadena neighborhood will observe the holiday the way its organizers say it has since 1994: with a two-block parade of decorated bikes and wagons, a garage band playing patriotic songs, a potluck and a raffle, all put on by neighbors. Its co-presidents say the smallness is intentional.

“We don’t want businesses controlling what we do, or being indebted to businesses or taking donations from businesses,” said Jama Meyer, co-president of the Historic Highlands Neighborhood Association.

The 32nd annual celebration begins at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 4, at the Triangle, a small city pocket park where Chester Avenue and Howard Street meet.

The parade lines up nearby, at Howard and Michigan Avenue, and loops two blocks through the neighborhood. A local garage band starts around 10:30 a.m. Streets along the route stay open, with volunteers posted at the corners; only the Triangle is barricaded for the day.

The tradition started small and stayed close to home.

“It was created by a bunch of mothers with kids,” Meyer said. “That’s how it got started back in 1994.”

Over the years, she said, it passed through three sets of organizing mothers’ groups and moved locations before settling at the Triangle. Today, Meyer said, pulling it off takes 60 to 70 volunteers, and planning begins in May.

“It’s all about the volunteers,” said Clint Palmer, who shares the co-president role with Meyer and has lived in the neighborhood for about 30 years. “It’s totally volunteer-driven, and I think that’s the reason it’s lasted for so long.”

The neighborhood sits astride the Pasadena–Altadena boundary, which the association says runs through yards rather than down any single street. It now contains two landmark districts — one designated by Pasadena and, as of July 22, 2025, one on the Altadena side approved by Los Angeles County.

“The line doesn’t matter to us,” Meyer said. “It’s about a community and us all working together.”

By the organizers’ estimate, 400 to 500 neighbors turn out. There are hay rides, a watermelon-eating contest, and an appearance by the Pasadena Fire Department, which sprays the children with water.

Members of Boy Scout Troop 4, a Pasadena troop founded in 1913, serve as the parade’s color guard (and cook the hot dogs).

The parade opens with the national anthem.

“Just ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at the beginning of the parade, and then a lot of food and laughter and games and everything afterward,” Palmer said. There are no speeches.

The raffle is the day’s last event. This year’s grand prize—four grandstand seats for the 2027 Rose Parade—is provided by District 2 City Councilmember Rick Cole, according to the association’s flyer; other prizes include a $350 Southwest Airlines gift card and gift cards from local businesses. Raffle tickets are $1 each or six for $5, and the flyer suggests a $5 donation to fund future events. Details are posted at historichighlands.org and on the association’s Instagram account.

What does a down-home, neighbor-run Fourth of July celebration say in the nation’s 250th year?

“I think it’s a reflection of what America is,” she said. “It’s about everyone coming together and community and helping each other out and showing pride for your country and your nation. And it’s the simplicity of it, I think, that makes it so powerful.”