KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Daysha Eaton/KMXT
Kodiak residents celebrated Independence Day with their annual parade downtown Wednesday.
Music blasted from a line of floats and people in the lineup threw candy to children, who scrambled in the streets to collect it.
The parade included service members from Coast Guard Base Kodiak, local emergency services personnel, and members of community groups including local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of Norway, and the Filipino American Association of Kodiak in their traditional regalia.
After the parade, KMXT’s Daysha Eaton joined the Filipino American Association at Buskin Beach Aure Park, where members celebrated the 4th of July and Filipino American Friendship Day with their annual potluck picnic.
The 4th of July is a double holiday for Filipino Americans, celebrating American and Filipino independence.
Following the end of WWII, the Philippines were recognized as an independent state. On July 4, 1946, the Republic of the Philippines and the USA signed a Treaty of General Relation that relinquished American sovereignty over the archipelago.
