Suzanne Frederiksen and Leigh Frederiksen Guerra-Paz 1989
Exchange Club volunteers are preparing to host their annual Fourth of July parade, and generations of Lake Highlands families are expected to take part. The parade is our community’s slice of Americana, proving that Lake Highlands genuinely is a small town in the big city.
The parade kicks off at 9 a.m., but the fun begins long before that. Children are invited to decorate wagons and bicycles in themes of red, white and blue in the east parking lot of North Highlands Bible Church, where judging is at 8:30. Spectators can expect to see vintage cars, local sports teams, energetic dance troupes, patriotic music and a colorful procession of community and school organizations proudly representing their causes.
Leigh Frederiksen Guerra-Paz, a 1999 Lake Highlands High School graduate, says she recalls participating in the parade as a child.
“My mom, Suzanne, (an LHHS grad from 1966) started decorating our bikes and entering my sister, Beth, and I into the parade every year starting in the mid-80s. She was an over-the-top decorator for the time, and I never got less than a first-place ribbon. Once we aged out, my sister and I participated in the parade as clowns from Lake Highlands United Methodist Church.”
Guerra-Paz later made the drill team and marched as a Highlandette in the parade, accompanied by the Wildcat marching band.
“After that, my brother, Christian (a 1988 LHHS grad), had children, and my mom decorated their bikes and scooters — all ribbon-winning — until they aged out and my sister and I had children. We have now been entering our children every year since.”
Guerra-Paz admits her sister comes out on top in the family parade rivalry.
“My sister usually wins the blue ribbon, while my kids come in second or third,” she laughs.
The parade runs east-to-west along Church Road. Afterward, the Exchange Club will host a carnival and food trucks at Lake Highlands North Park.
Leigh Frederiksen Guerra-Paz and Beth Frederiksen Collins in 1988.
Map courtesy of Exchange Club of Lake Highlands.
