Tens of thousands attend Danville's annual 4th of July parade despite heat wave

The heat didn't stop thousands from attending the annual 4th of July parade in Danville. In fact -- people camped out in the heat to get a good spot!

No one knows how to celebrate America's birthday better than Danville. Or at least, that's what the locals will tell you.

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"It's that small town feel that you don't get at all places," Mike Tacconi, a Danville resident, said.

"I don't know, it's got kind of a Midwest atmosphere," Rob Goldstein, the parade chair, said.

"I mean, it's just fun to be out here with everyone!" Sara Buchanan, a Livermore resident, said.

It's a tradition unlike any other in a Bay Area town of nearly 43,000 people.

The die-hards started setting up their chairs nearly 24 hours in advance.

"My favorite part of the parade is like right now, when you show up at 6 in the morning and you look down the street and it's lined with chairs," Goldstein said. "It gives me goosebumps."

Tacconi grew up coming to this parade. On Thursday, he showed up at 4 a.m.

"I have found that it's better to be early, than late because if I'm late by a minute or five minutes, it's over so I need to make sure I'm there early," Tacconi said.

But this year, the Fourth of July happens to fall in the middle of an eight-day heat wave for California.

Danville parade organizers opted to move forward with it anyway because of the early start time.

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"We've been doing it for so long and we've endured heat in previous years, it hasn't been like this for the last four, five years but we've had hot days like this before and the fact that we do it at 9 a.m., it's still relatively comfortable," Goldstein said.

Paradegoers were urged to bring lots of water, snacks, a blanket to sit on, hats, sunscreen and sunglasses for their own safety.

"Just doing lots of water, sunscreen, we're going to swim later and taking shade when it does feel a little too hot," Ashley Tamblyn, a Livermore resident, said.

Many along the parade route didn't seem to mind. "We're hanging in there, it's doing fine, it's not too bad right now but I'm hoping it stays like this so everyone can stay out here and enjoy this," Buchanan said.

"This is nothing compared to the independence those men and women have fought for our values for the United States of America, so it's great to be here," Tacconi said.

This year's parade theme is "Celebrating the Business of the San Ramon Valley."

The Grand Marshal is Marcia Harmon, the owner of Cottage Jewel in Danville.

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