It might be fair to say the Carnation 4th of July festival hasn’t had a “normal year” since 2019.

A global pandemic, firework-stopping heatwave and a $10 million improvement project along Tolt Avenue have disrupted festivities to varying degrees over the last three years.

But with a new group of community leaders injecting fresh energy into the festival, 2023’s celebrations are shaping up to make a big return — fitting nicely with this year’s theme, “back to our roots.”

Inspired by the old black and white parade photos over the fireplace at Sandy’s Coffee Shop, event organizers wanted to celebrate the annual parade’s return to its historic home on Tolt Avenue, said Megan Mellin, who is co-running the parade with her husband, Joe.

Last summer, Tolt underwent a major revitalization project, pushing the parade to a side street. The project repaved the road, expanded sidewalks and incorporated new public art and gardens along its edges. It was done partly with the parade in mind, Mellin said.

“We’re just excited for the history to be present as we’re back on Tolt Avenue, obviously with a new look and feel,” she said.

The other big change this year is who’s in charge. Longtime resident Kim Lisk, who had been leading the Carnation 4th of July organizing committee since 1996, stepped down last year.

In her absence, several new community members have carried on the event. Mellin, who moved to Carnation in 2021, saw Lisk announce her retirement from the 4th of July Committee on Facebook and jumped at the chance to help lead the event.

“I couldn’t believe there weren’t a million bites on that thread,” Mellin recalled.

Growing up in Topeka, Kansas, Mellin has fond memories of attending the Collins Park Neighborhood 4th of July parade every year filled with floats, balloons and, of course, strawberry shortcake. Now she is hoping to provide that same experience in Carnation.

Replacing the luminary Lisk has certainly been a process. Lisk had this innate ability to visualize the event in her head and call on her deep network of connections to make it happen, Mellin said.

“Kim can very quickly give instructions and create ideas,” she said. “Those of us who are newer to Carnation have to be able to see it on the map.”

After working with Lisk last year, Mellin said the 12-person committee and some additional volunteers got together, “muddling through, blazing a trail and trying to figure out how it all works.”

Mellin said she sees 2023 as a transition year. The group is working to build a solid base and create documentation with hopes that next year is more straightforward.

In future years, they want to expand promotions and events, while looking back at historic celebrations for ideas. They discovered the Carnation 4th of July formerly held things like a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, ugly dog contest, and tug-of-war between Carnation and Duvall.

They also are hoping to get more residents involved in the year-round planning process. Working on fun things like the parade, Mellin said, helps the community learn to work together when it has to answer challenging questions about its schools, government and safety.

“It makes it so much easier because you already have these positive relationships that are based on a common care for the community that we all share,” she said.

As for what’s in store for the parade, Mellin hopes over the next five to ten years the parade continues to tell the history of Carnation, while adding a few new stories and perspectives along the way.

“One of my biggest hopes is that the parade can become not just a site for tradition and connecting with history, but part of the history that comes to life,” she said. “We’ll really get to see a ton of new surprises and new angles on the stories of the community that people are building.”