Independence Day weekend is one of the busiest for the northwest Montana town of Bigfork. The lakeside community’s annual parade drew thousands to downtown at noon, but festivities kicked off early.
People began trickling into town around 8 a.m. for a Fourth-of-July-themed 5K run. Live music kicked off around 10 a.m., and food trucks with barbeque, boba and kettle corn began serving eager customers soon after.
Then, the parade set off. People, floats and vintage cars wound through downtown and crossed over the Swan River.
Twenty-year-old Wyatt Johnson grew up in Bigfork. He loves the parade and is grateful to show off his hometown.
“I’ve come to this thing since I could walk, always the same corner,” Johnson said. “And it's always fun to jump off the downtown bridge, too.”
Event organizers were eager to host the parade this year with their keystone bridge reopened. Downtown Bigfork’s 114-year-old bridge closed in January 2024 due to safety concerns. It opened to traffic again about a week before the parade.
"There are only two ways in and out of Bigfork,” said Bigfork Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors member Aaron Whitten. “That’s one of them. The target was to be ready for the Fourth of July parade this year, which they beat, actually.”
Whitten said about 5,000 people attended the parade this year. Among them was Jim Cusimano, clad in American flag-styled shorts, a shirt and bandana.
“All the patriotism and the people and fun and just the atmosphere is great,” Cusimano said.
He said he drove 10 hours from Miles City to attend. It was his 10th year attending, and certainly won’t be his last.
