A crowd of people lines the street on July 4, 2024, during the Independence Day Parade in Pendleton. Parade registration entries must be submitted for this year’s event by June 27, 2025, to Veterans of Foreign Wars Let'er Buck Post 922 or the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce. (Yasser Marte/East Oregonian, File)

PENDLETON — Veterans of Foreign Wars Let’er Buck Post 922 invites individuals, groups, community organizations and businesses to participate in Pendleton’s Independence Day Parade. There is no entry fee. The registration deadline is Friday, June 27. 

The annual parade kicks off Pendleton’s holiday celebration on July 4, starting at 10 a.m. from Pendleton City Hall, 500 SW Dorion Ave. It will travel to Main Street, turn onto Southwest Court and continue to the Pendleton Convention Center. 

Parade entries will line up between 8:30-9:15 a.m. at Pendleton City Hall, stretching from Southwest Fourth to Southwest 12th streets. The staging area for horse entries is in the parking lot at Baxter Auto Parts and Western Auto Home & Appliance, 300 block Southwest Emigrant Avenue.

With a theme of “America the Beautiful,” the parade entry receiving the most judges’ votes will be awarded the VFW Patriot Trophy. In addition, first place trophies will be given in each category: equestrian, motorized, first responder/military, civic group, business/commercial, youth groups and floats.

Entry forms are available at the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce, 501 S. Main St., or download/print a Google document via bit.ly/3I3Io4R. Submit registration to the chamber office or email to vfw922@gmail.com. For questions, call John Blagg at 541-969-0732.

Read about Fourth of July activities planned across the region in Go! Eastern Oregon, in the Wednesday, July 2, East Oregonian.