Kids get in the holiday spirit, decorate bikes for July Fourth parade

It was a patriotic scene at Holmes-Foster Park on Monday evening as kids — and parents — decorated their bikes with red, white and blue streamers and bows.

It was all in preparation for the Centre Region Parks and Recreation Kids on Wheels Parade, which has been a Fourth of July staple for about 35 years.

Jackson Feichtel, 7, was hard at work dressing up his blue bike.

His aunt, Michelle Peffer, joked that he was going to put so many streamers on, he wouldn’t be able to ride it.

“Flying in the wind,” Jackson said.

Beth Lee, recreation supervisor for CRPR, said they bring the supplies and then just let the kids do their own thing.

The bike decorating helps get the word out about the parade, she said, and the kids love it. (And Lee said she thinks the parents love it just as much as the kids do.)

CRPR has been hosting the pre-holiday prep event for about 10 years, Lee said.

Usually 70-80 kids attend the bike decoration event and about 300 ride in the parade, Lee said.

The parade is “a great way for people to start their holiday,” she said.

Line up for the CRPR Kids on Wheels Parade begins at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, with step off at 10. It starts at the corner of Locust Lane and Foster Avenue and ends at Sidney Friedman Park in downtown State College.

At the park, they’ll recite the Pledge of Allegiance, sing the national anthem and enjoy some watermelon and parachute games, Lee said.

CRPR is pleased to be able to continue the long-standing tradition, she said.

This story was originally published July 4, 2017 at 1:05 AM with the headline "Kids get in the holiday spirit, decorate bikes for July Fourth parade."