After a year of isolation and separation, Twin Cities families gather for Fourth of July

By the time the July 4th kids' dance party was over Sunday afternoon in Webber Park, 7-year-old Chuseng Her had 18 strands of shiny beads draped around his neck, a pile of fruity candy chews at his feet and a smile on his flushed face.

His sisters Gaochia, Jahia and Ceeda sported similarly sparkly necklaces and satisfied smiles, while their baby sister, Payingcha, slept silently in her stroller under a shade tree as the afternoon temperatures in north Minneapolis surged past 90.

Their mom, Mee Vang, said the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board-sponsored party, led by Kidsdance professional DJs, seemed liked a "great opportunity to celebrate" and get the kids out of the house.

"They've been holding this energy all school year long," said Mee Vang, smiling as she held up her cellphone to record the kids' dance moves. Vang's joy and relief at re-emerging after the COVID-19 pandemic also was expressed by others who joined the holiday crowds Sunday across the Twin Cities.

At parks, pools and parades, Minnesotans and their families gathered for summer fun.

In St. Paul's St. Anthony Park neighborhood, the annual morning parade was back this year, closing a few blocks of Como Avenue to traffic.

Five-year-old Cecilia Smith, among those in portable lawn chairs lining the street, said the highlight was seeing her preschool teacher Molly pass by as an honoree for keeping school in session with pandemic-safe outdoor classrooms during the past year.

Cecilia's 7-year-old brother Daniel got to ride a stretch of the parade on his bike, bedecked with a U.S. flag and shiny red and blue ribbons. He said he was looking forward to eating watermelon later.

The Smiths' grandmother, Mary Smith of Austin, Minn., said she enjoyed the push lawn mowers and their choreographed moves in the parade. "I think there should be hundreds of them next year," she said.

There also was a strong sense that the day's real celebration was the gathering itself.

"This is a family day," Mary Smith said.

Smith and her husband, Don, live only 90 minutes from the Twin Cities, but they had not been to St. Paul for a visit since the fall of 2019 because of concerns about the coronavirus.

The family, including Cecilia and Daniel's 3-year-old sister, Adeline, and parents Cameron and Danielle, planned to scope out the night sky Sunday for fireworks over downtown Minneapolis from their hillside front yard.

"We might just sit outside and see what they can see," Cameron Smith said.

Back in Webber Park, Vang's children — the oldest of whom is 8 — were among some 20 kids who stepped onto a grassy shaded patch to groove to Anderson .Paak, Justin Timberlake and (as the DJ shouted, "Does anybody like purple?") to Prince's "Baby, I'm a Star." They did the Cha Cha Slide, sidestepping and collected beads and candy from the DJs.

Among the youngsters at the dance party in Webber Park, there were plans for more outdoor activities.

Jim Durfey and his 7-year-old son, Theo, of Minneapolis, were headed to the adjacent Webber Park pool. Theo held a balloon sword as he warily eyed the dance action. "We sometimes have dance parties in our house but it's a little different in front of a crowd," Jim Durfey explained.

Theo's caution wasn't shared by the six kids that Enas Basha of Brooklyn Center brought to the party. Her 7-year-old daughter Mariam, 9-year-old son Hisham and their four cousins didn't take any breaks, enthusiastically dipping under the limbo bar and joining a line trailing a short loop through the park.

"They're having a blast," Enas Basha said as she watched. "Plus after COVID, this is their channel out."

Hisham offered one of his many beaded necklaces to his mom, but not his candy. "I ate it all already," he confessed.

The family planned a swim in the Webber Park pool before heading home to ignite their own sparklers and poppers in the driveway.

Enas Basha said the afternoon was a happy release — "Not only for them," she said, "but for me."

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747