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When I was a young mother, one of our family’s cherished traditions was placing our chairs on the sidewalk along Redwood Road in anticipation of the annual Riverton Parade. This was in 1980 when the population of Riverton was 7,000 residents and Redwood Road was a two-lane highway. Now it is 2021 and Redwood Road is a seven-lane highway, and there are over 44,000 residents in Riverton. Most of that growth has occurred on the west side of Riverton.
How do we maintain tradition and yet recognize and accommodate changes that occur due to growth and the needs and desires of our citizens? We must recognize, change and adapt. Two years ago, the Council made the decision that the long-standing tradition of the parade on Redwood Road would remain. Unfortunately, the new seven-lane highway was not very conducive to supporting Riverton’s tradition of candy throwing, and the parade route was confusing to residents and parade entries. In contrast, in 2018 the parade traveled down 2700 W and 13400 S due to construction on Redwood Road. Although this was not traditional, it worked very well. There were more places for people to park, there were more large grassy areas for people to watch the parade, the beginning and stopping points for the parade were easier to manage, and the traffic was easier to manage. For these reasons, the parade’s new tradition will be similar. Please watch for the annual Riverton Town Days booklet in your mailbox as well as on social media for the exact parade route. In addition, traditional events such as the rodeo, the car show, flag raising, breakfast, children’s activities, fireworks and more will continue.
Do not forget about the free summer events: Friday Fun Nights will be every Friday from July 16 - August 27. These include food trucks, a summer market and movie in the park. And finally, my personal favorite, the Sunday Concert in the Park series on August 1,8,15 and 22 at 6 p.m. at Riverton City Park, a new tradition of three years.
I also encourage residents throughout the city to implement small neighborhood gatherings during the summer to allow neighbors to get to know each other and interact in an informal setting. This is one of the best ways to keep the Riverton small town feel that so many of us “old timers” enjoy and treasure.