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A first for the Fourth
Electric light night parade to launch

<br>Submitted photo<br>
Musician Rachel Burnett will perform during this year's Fourth of July festivities in Tusayan. Besides live music, organizers are planning a wide assortment of fun events, including the first electric light night parade.

<br>Submitted photo<br> Musician Rachel Burnett will perform during this year's Fourth of July festivities in Tusayan. Besides live music, organizers are planning a wide assortment of fun events, including the first electric light night parade.

TUSAYAN, Ariz. - Plans are shaping up for a spectacular Fourth of July celebration at Grand Canyon this year, and will include a new attraction that has not been offered in past celebrations. According to organizers, the 2009 Fourth of July will offer an evening parade and feature the first ever electric light night parade, and other entertainment. The theme for this year's parade, according to Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce President Craig Andresen, is "an old-fashioned Fourth of July."

"We're changing things up a little bit here," Andresen said. "For the last 28 years they have had their parade in the afternoon, with live music and more. This year we're doing our first ever electric light night parade. It's going to be a little different than what we have done in the past."

Grand Canyon Camper Village, located in Tusayan, will host this year's event for the first time. Events will include a live auction, barbecue, a pie eating contest for adults and children, live music and even a horseshoe-throwing contest and much more.

"We are calling them 'mule' throwing, just because we are at the Grand Canyon," Andresen said.

A hand drum contest is also planned, organizers said. The contest will get under way at 8 a.m.

"It's going to be where the Native American art fair goes, on, between the Grand Hotel and the McDonalds," Andresen said.

The decision to hold an electric light parade, scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m., came after organizers sought new ways in which to celebrate Independence Day, traditionally honored with fireworks. Due to the proximity of the surrounding forest, however, Andresen said fireworks are not allowed in Tusayan.

"That's why we thought we would do an electric light parade, simply because we cannot have fireworks, and it would give us a little more to do after dark," Andresen said.

The Rachel Burnett Band, featuring Bob Blasi and John Reuter from Grand Canyon, will perform immediately following the parade, Andresen said, offering a great musical mix to the Tusayan celebration.

"They're really kind of a little bit of everything group, country, bluegrass, it fits right in with our theme," Andresen said.

Auction items for the event include a hand-woven Navajo rug, a silver bracelet and a signed piece of Native American pottery from Xanterra. Officials at Red Feather Lodge also donated a portable DVD player and iPods to the event. Other auction items are still needed, according to Andresen. To donate, contact the Chamber offices at (928) 638-2901, or drop donations off at their new Village Shops location.


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