Ten Year Old's 4th of July Parade Becomes Neighborhood Tradition
By: Kristin Anderson
Updated: July 4, 2012
"It's, you can't wait. Like, you just want it to be ready already,"said Coltyn Cook, as he waited for his parade to start.
After moving from a neighborhood with an annual parade to one without,10 year old Coltyn decided to start a new tradition.
"Because I really wanted to carry on the tradition of parades so I just put together a parade last year," he explained. "And now I want to have it keep on going."
And by leading the first parade, Coltyn was able to make some new friends.
"Just, the fun. Cause, I mean, I didn't know anybody so I met a lot of new people," he said.
But today's parade is about more than just celebrating the fourth of July.
"It's just about knowing your neighbor again. And as busy as we are in the world today, you don't know your neighbor anymore," said Shannon Cook, Coltyn's dad. "That's kind of what this is about. Just to get to know your neighbor and say, 'Hey, if you need something come holler at me. Let me see if i can help you.'"
Though the turnout was almost double compared to last year, it's more about keeping the community together.
"If nothing else, we get this neighbor down the street, and this neighbor down the street to meet and now we know a little bit more about our neighbors. And we can take care of our neighborhood that way too. If you need something, give us a call. We'll see if you can help you out," said Shannon.
After moving from a neighborhood with an annual parade to one without,10 year old Coltyn decided to start a new tradition.
"Because I really wanted to carry on the tradition of parades so I just put together a parade last year," he explained. "And now I want to have it keep on going."
And by leading the first parade, Coltyn was able to make some new friends.
"Just, the fun. Cause, I mean, I didn't know anybody so I met a lot of new people," he said.
But today's parade is about more than just celebrating the fourth of July.
"It's just about knowing your neighbor again. And as busy as we are in the world today, you don't know your neighbor anymore," said Shannon Cook, Coltyn's dad. "That's kind of what this is about. Just to get to know your neighbor and say, 'Hey, if you need something come holler at me. Let me see if i can help you.'"
Though the turnout was almost double compared to last year, it's more about keeping the community together.
"If nothing else, we get this neighbor down the street, and this neighbor down the street to meet and now we know a little bit more about our neighbors. And we can take care of our neighborhood that way too. If you need something, give us a call. We'll see if you can help you out," said Shannon.
