Neighborhood parade is patriotic





THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE—Local kids lead the way during last year’s July 4th Liberty Canyon parade. The annual procession, started in 2009, is growing into a beloved community tradition.

THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE—Local kids lead the way during last year’s July 4th Liberty Canyon parade. The annual procession, started in 2009, is growing into a beloved community tradition.

In the spirit of mom, apple pie and fireworks, the residents of Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills will celebrate the Fourth of July with another one of their famous neighborhood parades.

Walkers, bikers and scooter riders of all ages will take part in the fifth annual procession, a homespun affair that embodies the spirit of Americana.

Liberty Canyon resident Sheena Stephens started the parade four years ago with her husband, T.J. Stephens.

“On July 3, I was reminiscing about the smalltown patriotic parades of my youth (in Sandy, Utah), the one I rode my bike in—red, white and blue — Shana handlebar streamers and all— and wishing we had something similar for my kids to enjoy,” said Sheena Stephens, who met her husband at Pepperdine University.

The couple moved to Liberty Canyon in 2002 when they were expecting their first child.

“We were attracted to the neighborhood when we first drove through and saw lots of kids and parents outside. We love our Liberty Canyon community,” Stephens said.

The couple wanted to create a spontaneous event that would be fun for their three children and bring people together in the neighborhood, which is in a canyon on the east end of Agoura Hills.

“Wonderful childhood memories are anchored on traditions which kids can look forward to with great anticipation. As parents, we have the opportunity to continue the great traditions of our childhood and create new traditions unique to our families and modern lives,” Stephens wrote in 2011 in a blog about the parade.

It started the evening of July 3, 2009, when she and her husband put up a poster at an entry to Liberty Canyon inviting neighbors to take part in a community parade. That evening, the parents helped their children decorate their bikes and other wheeled toys.

“We told our kids that it might just be our family in the parade.

But to our delight, about 50 people showed up to join us that first year,” Stephens said, adding that a neighborhood horse and a chicken dressed as Uncle Sam also came along for the trek around the neighborhood.

According to Stephens, the display is a perfect match for the Liberty Canyon community, where streets names include Patrick Henry Place, United Road,

Defender Drive and Revere Way.

This year’s parade will begin at 10 a.m. Thurs., July 4.

The half-mile procession will begin at Liberty Canyon and Country Glen roads, and continue south on Liberty Canyon, east on Park Vista, north on Patrick Henry Place then back to Country Glen.

About 300 people Stephens participated last year, including a number of patriotic pets, Stephens said. “The parade has grown organically each year. It’s been fun to watch it take on a life of its own.”

Although it’s growing each year, the idea is to keep the parade simple, allowing children to show up with homemade floats on wagons and with their scooters decorated with streamers. Last year one neighbor marched in the parade playing patriotic songs on his bugle.

“That’s the homespun spirit that we hope will march on,” said Stephens, who works in public relations.

The public is invited to join Liberty Canyon residents for their parade. A patriotic flair is encouraged.


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