PUEBLO WEST — Tuesday, the 4th of July, was the return of the largest water fight west of the Mississippi. Thousand of people lined the streets along Joe Martinez Boulevard to celebrate the holiday and the parade.
The Jack Fowler Memorial 4th of July water parade in Pueblo West is a holiday tradition in its 30th year, with a lot of history behind it. About 15,000 people bring their water guns, super soakers, and buckets, and then spray one another or get water dumped on them.
“I used to live on the parade route down the street. So I used to be able just to roll out my hose and start spraying people,” said Anthony Sandstrom, the communications specialist for the Pueblo West Metro District. “It's a rite of passage for anybody that lives in Pueblo West and really in Pueblo.”
If you go to a Pueblo West wet parade, be prepared to get soaked. If you've been for many years, you know, there's no leaving the parade without getting wet or sprayed with water when you're least expecting it. Kids and adults don’t hold back when it comes joining the fun and spraying one another.
“You're going to get soaked if you're showing up to this parade. You are not going to leave dry. And that's what makes it so fun,” said Sandstrom. “It's turned into quite a tradition in Pueblo West and it's really the highlight of everybody's year out here. So we're really excited bring it back this year.”
The last Pueblo West wet parade was in 2019. It was cancelled the last few years due to covid and local water restrictions, but a community-wide push brought it back.
This year, the parade was named after late fire chief Jack Fowler, who served with the Pueblo West Fire Department.
Dyann said her late husband unintentionally brought the wet parade to life in 1993, when he sprayed a crowd of spectators with a fire hose along the parade route. The following year, parade-goers fired back.
“If there was water anywhere jack would figure out a way to start a water fight,” said Dyann. “Whether it was one of the kids birthday parties or the parade or just a fire department get together and it was just kind of fitting that again, he started this just trying to cool people off in the crowd along the parade route.”
Jack’s family, including Dyann, was also the grand marshals for the parade this year. It was a day not only to celebrate with their community, but remember their loved one they lost about decades ago.
“It took about 20 years to put his name on something, but this is very fitting. This is something he started and so it's very heartwarming to have this named after him now,” said Dyann Fowler, Jack’s wife.
So, when asked how to sum up the parade in a few words, here’s what people had to say.
“It’s as close to a war atmosphere as you're gonna find without actually being in the military,” said Sandstrom.
“It's chaos, but it's a lot of fun,” said Jasmine, a 13-year-old parade-goer.
“The point is, it’s fun, because you get to squirt people and also you get to experience having fun in the water,” said Bailey, another 13-year-old parade-goer.
The water parade was the kickoff to the 4th of July festivities in Pueblo West. More annual traditions, including the beautiful baby contest, a cookout, live music and vintage car show also took place. Fireworks also began at Civic Center Park once it got dark.
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