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Community Corner

Gallery: Fourth of July Celebration in Downtown Skokie

With temperature hitting 101 F, Skokie residents brave the heat to mark America's 236th birthday. Check out our online gallery of the event here.

Under the shade of trees that lined Oakton Street and behind the shadows of buildings nearby, onlookers huddled to escape the record breaking heat during Skokie's Fourth of July downtown parade

The heat and humidity, however, was inescapable as if baking the concrete of the parade route. But Skokie residents still showed up with their red, white and blue hats, umbrellas, shirts and sunglasses. Lounging on their own folding chairs and frequently sipping on bottled water, many waited impatiently. And when the parade participants finally showed up just past noon, the cheers were almost muffled by the feverish heat, which tied the hottest July 4th in over a century, according to news reports.

Still, as in many festivities past, the annual Independence Day Parade in Skokie attracted a diverse group of participants, including marching bands from Wyoming and Toledo, Ohio, local politicians and business establishments. Skokie's Assyrian, Indian, Latino and Asian communities also joined in as well as police and firefighters.

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