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Upper valley communities celebrated Independence Day Friday with parades, parties, playing in the parks, breakfasts, barbecues, rodeos and fireworks.

Flag waving also was in vogue. Red, white and blue adorned everything from flags proudly and patriotically carried by veterans in the parades to T-shirts, hats and cakes.

Rexburg, Ashton, Island Park and communities in between each held their own brand of celebration.

Rexburg’s Whoopee Days started with a fun run and flag ceremony, continued with a big parade and lots of folks headed to Porter Park after the parade to have picnics, socialize and check out the entertainment and booths.

“It was the best parade,” Doug Hancey of Rexburg said, strolling with his wife through Porter Park afterward. “And the park is fun,” he said. “It’s just great to see and visit with people you haven’t seen in awhile.”

For Anna Kunz of Rexburg, who was selling make-your-own buttons at a booth in Porter Park, the event was the epitome of an old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration. “I’m from Houston and we never had anything like this there,” she said, enjoying the friendliness of Rexburg’s hometown event.

The Rexburg Police were helping keep people safe, in part with a handy bicycle patrol. Patrol Supervisor David Stubbs said the parade and celebration in the park were mostly incident free.

“We had five lost children at the parade,” he said, “and five found.” He said there almost always are a couple of children that become separated from their parents at such big events. Thousands of people attended the parade.

Ashton’s Fourth of July Celebration also included a parade and fun in the park. The Rotary Club also held a breakfast, running out of food just as they ran out of breakfast goers, according to Dee Reynolds.

Crowds were bigger than usual at the Ashton celebration, a couple of long-time residents said.

“It’s a better than average audience,” Harold Lenz surmised as he watched the floats, old cars and horses pass by on Main Street from his store front. “With gas prices so high maybe more people are staying home to celebrate,’ he speculated. He said the parade seemed better than average, too. He figures he has attended every Ashton Fourth of July Parade.

Claude Daniels offered another explanation why more people might have attended Ashton’s Independence Day festivities. For the first time ever, Peter Ashton and his mother, Lenora Ashton, ancestors of William Ashton, a railroad engineer who gave the town his name, attended the party, with Peter serving as grand marshal.

Mrs. Ashton said the visit to Ashton was an “unexpected and exciting treat” and profusely thanked the community for the invitation.

Farther north in Fremont County, Island Park was filled with visitors fishing, camping and otherwise enjoying the summer. A boat regatta and barbecue on the Island Park Reservoir shore at Lakeside Lodge were held in honor of the country’s birthday.

All three communities set off fireworks to cap their celebrations.

U.S. Highway 20 was busy with campers, trailers and people headed north to the woods to enjoy the holiday.