SAFFORD — The rain held off long enough for the Gila Valley to enjoy the Independence Day Weekend.
“You know, after we’ve been quarantined for so long, it just feels good to be able to gather and mingle and enjoy each other’s company,” said Thatcher Mayor Randy Bryce. “It’s kind of fitting that it is on Independence Day that we’re able to finally put one of these together. It just feels good.”
Pima kicked things off at 6:30 a.m. Saturday with the town’s traditional breakfast in Heritage Park, and followed that with freed admission to the town pool and a fireworks display at Vard Lines Roping Arena in the evening.
Thatcher’s People’s Parade started at 8 a.m. and traveled to the splash pad park, where there a flag-raising, musical performances, a pancake breakfast, a bounce house and the spraying of children with water by a fire truck.
Following a flag-raising ceremony in front of the Graham County Courthouse at 10 a.m., the Safford Lions Club started the annual Gila Valley Independence Day Parade down Safford’s Main Street.
On Sunday, the Graham County fireworks display took place at Graham County Fairgrounds.
