Carrigan PriceFollow

Date Collected

Winter 12-2017

Place item was collected

Layton, Utah

Informant

Kennedy Price

Point of Discovery/Informant Bio

Kennedy Price is my 14-year-old sister. She was born and raised in Layton, Utah and currently resides in West Layton. She is the youngest of 4 children in her family. She is an 8th grader at Legacy Junior High School and her favorite subject in school is science. She enjoys playing sports, and her favorite sport is soccer.

Context

Kennedy told me about this custom while we were eating lunch together in my parents’ kitchen in Layton on a Sunday afternoon. We had just returned from a family gathering so we were both pretty hungry. We sat next to each other at the table and as we ate, she explained the 4th of July is one of her favorite holidays and attending the parade is a crucial part of that holiday. My parents walked in and out of the kitchen as we talked, cleaning up and preparing the house for another week. They didn’t interrupt much, but we had to talk over the noises they made as they did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen in general. The context of this tradition is very different from the context I collected it in; Kennedy always watches the parade on the front lawn of Layton High School. The parade route stretches from the top of Main Street to the end of Lancer Lane, but Kennedy and her family sit right the end of the route on the curb on the north side of the high school. She sits on lawn chairs under big sun umbrellas and always has drinks and snacks to munch on. The parade lasts for about an hour and starts at 10 AM, but Kennedy arrives at Layton High about 2 hours early and leaves about half an hour after it’s over, stretching this tradition into about a 4-hour event. It always occurs on the morning of July 4th. Family members are the main participants of this tradition; Kennedy’s immediate family members and all the family members from her dad’s side of the family attend. There are also always a few family members in the parade. Kennedy has participated in this custom every 4th of July since she can remember.

Text

The night before [the 4th of July] we go and put down blankets for the rest of our family and then we go and usually arrive at 8 o’clock and the parade starts at like 10- oh we put the blankets on the sidewalk on the parade route- and we usually put down a lot because all of our extended family comes, and my dad usually goes and gets McDonalds breakfast sandwiches and that’s what we eat while we wait for the parade to start- or get to us. Sometimes we have siblings or cousins in the parade. It’s really crazy and fun and the saltwater taffy is the icing on the cake.

Texture

Kennedy told me about this custom a little hesitantly because I’ve participated in the tradition with her for many years. However, once we talked for a little awhile, she opened up and told me how much she likes this custom. While I collected this folklore, the atmosphere was really relaxed and easy-going because we are sisters, and Kennedy got really animated as she detailed how the parade works. She talked really quickly and loudly and often had to backtrack because she would get ahead of herself. The texture of the actual event was described as hot, crazy, and loud. Everybody at the parade is yelling so they can be heard over the cars and firetrucks in the parade, and there are always a lot of people in attendance. The fight over saltwater gets “super competitive” as well. It was obvious that Kennedy really values this tradition and she told me that the 4th of July wouldn’t be complete without this tradition.

Course

Introduction to Folklore/English 2210

Instructor

Dr. Lynne S. McNeill

Semester and year

Fall 2017

Theme

G1: Holidays

EAD Number

1.7.5

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