2015 Hollister Freedom Rally

The Hollister Freedom Rally will be ending in a couple hours. The weather has been perfect for the three-day event. Not too hot, not too cold. And, the fog burned off early in the morning. Hope the thousands of visitors and locals who attended the motorcycle rally enjoyed themselves.

Hats off to the ConvEXX, the rally's organizer, and to Hollister Police Chief David Westrick for a great job of ensuring a safe and peaceful event.

For more photos of the events, check out Take 25's album on Facebook. You don't need to be a Facebook member or sign on to view it.

The 2015 Fourth of July Kiddie Parade

The Husband and I barely parked our bicycles when we heard the band start up a couple blocks away. The annual Fourth of July Kiddie Parade had begun. Hurrah! 

The Summer Band and Music Band Camp Marching Band played the Stars & Stripes. The Husband, a former school band marcher, said that they played part of the song, but they had it memorized. Few, if any, were carrying music. The young musicians were quite impressive. 

The fun parade of cuteness and sweetness went by quickly, as the children and their grown-ups made their way from the Veterans Park to Marguerite Maze School on Meridian Drive. 

Happy Fourth of July, Everyone!

The Replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Hollister

The Moving Wall, the replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (also known as The Wall) in Washington D.C., is on display at Dunne Park, on Seventh and Powell Streets. It's open for free viewing 24 hours a day during the Hollister Freedom Rally.

Completed in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built to honor the military men and women who served within the combat zone consisting of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and other coastal areas. The names on the wall are the 58,272 military personnel who were killed or remain missing in action since 1959.  For more details about the memorial, please click here.

The Moving Wall was created to bring the memorial to people who may not be able to visit the actual one in Washington, D.C. The replica is half the size of the memorial. It has criss-crossed the United States every year for more than 30 years. For info about the Moving Wall, please click here.

John Caldwell wrote a wonderful article in BenitoLink.com about The Moving Wall coming to town. It includes an interview with local veteran Bernie Rameriz who remembers the seven Hollister men who were killed in action and are noted on The Wall. To read "A moving memorial to Vietnam vets comes to Dunne Park", please click here.

During the Moving Wall's stay in Hollister, it is being hosted by the following groups. Thank you for sponsoring its display in our community.

Dark Clouds, But No Rain

We've been having strange weather. High temperatures with humidity, which you'd think would break into rain. Nope.  Dark clouds passing through, which, again, you'd think would result in rain. Ha!

We can only hope that some of this weather may give us a surprise summer rain.

The 4th of July Kiddie Parade

The annual 4th of July Parade is the cutest and sweetest of all the parades that we have in Hollister. The main participants are the children of Hollister. It's also the shortest, and the only parade that does not go along the main street of Dowtown Hollister.

The Independence Day Kiddie Parade starts at 10 a.m. It marches down Memorial Drive, between Hillcrest Road and Meridian Street, to Marguerite Maze School.

All children and their adults are welcome to join the parade. Kids can walk, pedal their bicycles, push their scooters, ride their wagons or strollers, and so forth. If you want to be in the parade from the start, meet at the corner of Hillcrest Road and Memorial Drive before 10 a.m.

If you're a sentimental old fool like me who plans to watch the parade, be sure to bring tissues or a hankie in case you start crying because you're watching such a cute and sweet parade.