Every week we post another reason to love Lake Oswego. It comes easily to us because we live here and we are Realtors here. So, not that we need it, but sometimes we are reminded of why we love calling this place home.

And one such reminder came this month on the 4^th of July. We showed up at the Lions’ Club Pancake Breakfast in George Rogers Park at 8:30, about 30 minutes after kickoff. And already the line was a couple hundred people long. By the time we left, the line resembled more of the weave of a Disneyland line as the throngs of residents and visitors across all ages showed up to carry on or start an annual tradition.

Kids were juggling in the middle of the crowd, grandmas were leading toddlers over to the band to bop and sway with the tunes, volunteers were passing out coffee to people waiting in line. The party in front of us was a dozen strong, mostly out-of-towners who trek to Lake Oswego every 4^th to partake in the festivities and compete in two teams in a series of games in a waterfront backyard.

From there we trekked over to the Star Spangled Festival and Parade heading down A Avenue and just beamed with a sense of pride and satisfaction at the crowds lined up to cheer the marching bands, floats and decorated wagons while they jockeyed for candy and visited with neighbors.

Between the breakfast and parade, it seemed the whole city was out in force.

My wife and I have lived here for over 35 years and in that time we have seen the 4^th of July traditions grow. We’ve also seen the kids we used to bring to the festivities now bring their own kids, trying to keep that magic alive they experienced when they were young. It reinforces what we felt when we moved here. Lake Oswego is a great place to raise a family. The 4^th of July festivities are just one example but a very visual one and it just struck us both smack dab in the face and in our hearts.

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