Editing Canonsburg, Pennsylvania (section)

===Fourth of July Parade===
[[File:Canonsburg-fourth-of-july-parade-float.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Pike Street in the Canonsburg [[Independence Day (United States)|Fourth of July]] parade]]
The Canonsburg Fourth of July Parade is a [[parade]] through Canonsburg celebrating [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]]. It is the second-largest Fourth of July parade in Pennsylvania, second only to [[Philadelphia]], despite Canonsburg having only 8,992 residents.<ref name="kdka">{{Cite web |url=http://kdka.com/local/canonsburg.parking.chairs.2.762600.html |title=KDKA 7/2/2008 |access-date=October 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020182423/http://kdka.com/local/canonsburg.parking.chairs.2.762600.html |archive-date=October 20, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> 50,000 to 60,000 people usually attend.<ref name="kdka"/><ref name="post-gazette">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=20020702&id=weoNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QnADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3309,218770 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Squatters spark controversy in Canonsburg" 7/2/2002]</ref> The parade starts on Morganza Road and runs down the length of Pike Street, heading westward, for approximately 1.5 miles.

The parade begins at 10:00&nbsp;am on the Fourth of July. Parade members include high school and other [[marching band]]s from [[Washington County, Pennsylvania|Washington County]] and the [[Pittsburgh metropolitan area|surrounding areas]], local sports teams and [[cheer leading|cheerleaders]] of all ages, [[fire truck]]s, [[emergency vehicle|emergency responders]], [[Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine|shriners]], [[unicycle|unicyclists]], [[juggling|jugglers]], [[bagpipes|pipers]], [[polka|polka bands]], various church groups, members of the [[Veterans of Foreign Wars|VFW]], local politicians, and the mayor of Canonsburg. Some groups throw candy to the children along the parade route, and others pass out water bottles.

After the parade, the day's festivities continue with food, concerts, events in Canonsburg Town Park, and family entertainment throughout the day.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/entertainment/3399807/detail.html |title=The Pittsburgh Channel 7/4/2009 |access-date=October 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903080254/http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/entertainment/3399807/detail.html |archive-date=September 3, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The day ends with [[fireworks]] launched near [[Canon-McMillan School District|Canon-McMillan]] Memorial Stadium.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wpxi.com/station/19834513/detail.html |title=WPXI 7/1/2009 |access-date=October 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704124530/http://www.wpxi.com/station/19834513/detail.html |archive-date=July 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

The parade is perhaps regionally best known for the long-standing tradition of enthusiasts placing chairs, benches, and beach chairs along the parade route to reserve their seats, sometimes a week or more ahead of the parade. This has caused controversy among some residents and business owners, but the tradition continues to this day.<ref name="post-gazette"/> The seat saving ritual has attracted the attention of [[CNN]], [[Jay Leno]], and [[David Letterman]].<ref>[http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Story/06-30-Canonsburg-Chairs Observer-Reporter 6/30/2009]{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>