There’s a certain kind of magic that settles over Edmonds every Fourth of July. It’s not just the flags or the fireworks or the sound of kids racing down sidewalks. It’s the feeling – that unmistakable Edmonds energy – when the whole town shows up for each other.

The day starts early. Long before the parade rolls down Main Street, neighbors are out setting up chairs, greeting familiar faces, and catching up like no time has passed at all. It’s the kind of morning that reminds you why Edmonds feels less like a city and more like a shared front porch.

This year, yours truly was going to give it a try. I’d been sketching, planning, and, let’s be honest, overthinking the idea of building a float with my youngest daughter, the freshly minted Meadowdale graduate, and my always‑reliable, go-to engineering buddy.

The concept was simple and a little ridiculous in the best way: three cube‑style houses on a flatbed; one straw, one twigs, one brick. A playful nod to a story everyone knows, rolling proudly down Fifth Avenue. But the more I tinkered, the more I hesitated, and eventually the moment passed.

So instead of seeing it trundling down the parade route, you’ll just have to imagine how fun,  and how very Edmonds, it would have been.

Back to reality. By the time the children’s parade begins, the sidewalks are packed. Families cheer, dogs trot proudly in red bandanas, and the youngest Edmonds residents take center stage. It’s joyful, chaotic, and completely perfect. A celebration of the next generation growing up in a community that truly sees them.

Then comes the main parade, and this is where Edmonds shines. Local businesses, nonprofits, service clubs, musicians, dancers, and volunteers all move as one long ribbon of community pride. A crowd (and my wife’s) favorite, the Grupo Folklórico horses, swirl past in bright color and rhythm, a reminder of the cultural threads that make this town richer.

And as the floats roll by, it becomes a kind of “old‑home week,” spotting friends, neighbors, and familiar faces dotted all along the parade route. Every wave feels like a small reunion.

And that’s the real story of An Edmonds Kind of Fourth. It’s not just a holiday. It’s a reminder of who we are when we come together. A town that shows up. A town that celebrates each other. A town that believes community isn’t something you talk about – it’s something you do.

As the sun sets and fireworks reflect off the Sound from other towns ringing the shoreline (yes, I miss the era we had fireworks), the day ends the same way it began: neighbors standing shoulder to shoulder, grateful to be part of something bigger than themselves.

Edmonds in action. Edmonds at its very best.

June brings a little more color into the world. Pride flags appear in windows, crosswalks brighten, and communities everywhere take a moment to celebrate belonging. But here in Edmonds, Pride has its own rhythm – quieter, steadier, and woven into the everyday ways people move through this place.

Because in Edmonds, belonging isn’t an event. It’s a way of being.

You see it in the small, ordinary signals that shape how a city feels. The driver who stops at the crosswalk no matter who’s waiting. Young, old, tattooed, suited, Pride‑flag backpack, doesn’t matter. The neighbor who offers a wave without needing to know your story.

The barista who treats everyone with the same easy kindness. The comfort of sitting in a park and knowing the space is meant for you, too. These moments don’t announce themselves, but they quietly say something essential: everyone belongs here.

Around town, Pride shows up in subtle, sincere ways. Some storefronts add flags or window displays. The library leans into inclusive programming. A few community gatherings take on a little extra color during June. Nothing loud or performative, just the city’s quiet way of saying, “You belong.”

Edmonds has long been a kind of safe zone, a place where people – no matter their creed, color, identity, or Pride affiliation – can move through the day without feeling out of place. It’s not something the city declares; it’s something it practices. You see it in the way people greet each other on sidewalks, in the way families show up for one another, and in the easy kindness that threads through daily life. Belonging here isn’t conditional. It’s cultural.

That sense of safety doesn’t come from a single policy or a single celebration. It comes from the accumulation of small choices, from businesses that create welcoming spaces, from schools that support LGBTQ+ students without fanfare, from community groups that fold inclusion naturally into their work.

It comes from leadership that listens and neighbors who look out for one another.

In Edmonds, belonging isn’t declared. It’s carried in the small, steady gestures that shape a community. Pride isn’t a month here. It’s a mindset.

Edmonds is stitched together by its parks – 1 mile of shoreline, 47 parks and open‑space sites, 230 City‑managed acres, and another 362 acres cared for through partnerships.

From Seaview to the Bowl, from Highway 99 to the waterfront, these spaces give every neighborhood a place to walk, play, gather, and take a breath.

They’re not just destinations – they’re part of how Edmonds works.

In the center of town, Civic Center Playfield has quickly become the new jewel of Edmonds. The rebuilt park hosts festivals, concerts, markets, and major community events throughout the year; including the Edmonds Block Party and the Rotary Club of Edmonds Oktoberfest.

Kids fill the playground, adults gather at the petanque courts, and the open lawn flexes for everything from fitness classes to family picnics.

Just a block away, Centennial Plaza anchors the downtown core. It’s a compact civic space that plays a big role, serving as a home for announcements, gatherings, and the annual Christmas tree that lights up the season.

Across Main Street, Frances Anderson Playfield sits beside the Frances Anderson Center. The fields and playground serve as a central hub for youth sports, school activities, and community festivals, including the upcoming Edmonds Arts Festival. On weekends, it’s a steady mix of soccer games, families, and pop‑up events.

A few blocks south, Edmonds City Park remains one of the community’s most reliable gathering spots. With its playground, ballfields, picnic shelters, and popular spray park (now open!), it’s a go‑to for families and group events – busy, practical, and well‑used.

Along the waterfront, parks define the city’s edge. Marina Beach and the Edmonds Off Leash Area give dogs and their people a rare treat: a saltwater shoreline where dogs can run and swim.

Just across the tracks, the Edmonds Marsh offers one of the last remaining urban saltwater marshes in the region, with walking paths and viewpoints for birdwatchers and anyone looking for a quieter moment.

Nearby, Olympic Beach and the waterfront walkway connect the ferry dock to Marina Beach. It’s where visitors and locals stroll, watch ferries, and take in the most recognizable views in Edmonds.

In the neighborhoods, smaller parks keep things local. Hummingbird Park and Pine Ridge Park give north‑end and Bowl residents close‑to‑home green space. Pine Ridge, with its wooded trails and natural feel, is a small forest tucked into the city grid.

Seaview has its own anchors in Hutt Park and Sierra Park. Hutt Park offers wooded trails and a more natural experience, while Sierra Park provides play equipment and open space for families.

Some parks lean more toward nature than play structures. Yost Park is often described as Edmonds’ own forest; it’s a ravine and creek system with tall trees, bridges, and trails that hint at the landscape before development. It’s a place to walk under a canopy, hear water, and feel removed from the city while still being in it.

Edmonds also includes protected open spaces that many residents discover only over time. Robert F. Leary Open Space preserves a slice of natural habitat in the Bowl. Chase Lake and its wetlands provide wildlife habitat in the Lake Ballinger area.

And stretching across more than 100 acres, Southwest County Park offers ravines, wetlands, and miles of forested trails that feel far more remote than the map suggests.

On the east side, Esperance Park serves the unincorporated pocket between Edmonds and Lynnwood. With its playground, fields, and off‑leash dog area, it functions as both a neighborhood park and a regional resource.

Taken together, these parks form a network rather than a handful of destinations. They support youth sports, festivals, quiet walks, dog meetups, playground time, and everyday exercise. They reflect the variety of Edmonds neighborhoods – waterfront, wooded, urban, and everything in between.

In Edmonds, parks aren’t an extra. They’re where nature meets neighborhood, and where community shows up in everyday life.

Summer in Edmonds doesn’t arrive all at once. It eases in slowly, a little more evening light, a few warm afternoons, and that moment when you realize the yard has quietly shifted from winter recovery to summer possibility.

Before the season fully settles in – summer officially begins June 21 – it’s worth giving your outdoor spaces a thoughtful reset. Not a makeover (although only you know if you really should), or a major project. Just the kind of care that makes your home feel ready for longer days, open windows, and evenings outside.

The best place to begin is the ground itself. Garden beds take the hardest hit over winter, and by late spring, they’re often full of weeds, grass runners, and plants that have stretched in every direction. A round of deep-weeding and trimming changes everything.

Clearing out the beds sharpens the whole yard and gives your summer plants room to breathe. This is also the perfect moment to tuck in a few vegetables – tomatoes, herbs, lettuces, and beans all thrive when planted now, and by midsummer, you’ll have fresh ingredients right outside the door.

Once the beds are under control, turn to the lawn. A good mow, a defined edge, and a little attention to bare spots can make the yard feel refreshed without much effort. You don’t need a perfect lawn (although it often feels like a competition in Edmonds to have the very best).

A light fertilizer or organic treatment helps it green up for the season, and in our coastal light, even small improvements make the whole yard feel brighter.

With the foundation set, you can start shaping the outdoor spaces you actually use. Most homes have natural “zones,” even if they weren’t planned that way – a corner for morning coffee, a spot for an evening glass of wine, a place where the kids or grandkids tend to gather.

In our house, we have three distinct areas, each with its own vibe. You don’t need much to define these spaces. A pair of chairs and a small table become a conversation nook. A bench with a cushion turns into a reading spot. A single planter can anchor a tiny balcony. For Edmonds condo owners, planters are often the easiest way to bring life to a small patio or deck. A few well‑chosen pots can turn even a compact space into a personal retreat.

After the zones are set, give everything a quick clean. Sweep the patio, rinse the furniture, refresh the cushions, and wipe down the grill. Decks especially benefit from a spring reset; a simple wash brightens the boards, and a quick check for loose screws or soft spots keeps things safe for summer gatherings. Once the deck is clean, stage it the same way you would an indoor room – a couple of defined seating areas, a few plants, and a clear sense of how the space is meant to be enjoyed.

And then comes the part I’m admittedly obsessed with: lighting. Good outdoor lighting changes the entire mood of a home. It doesn’t need to be dramatic, just warm, intentional, and placed where it adds comfort. I’ve experimented with just about everything over the years, and the things I’ve ended up loving most are the simplest.

Café lights strung overhead create an instant sense of welcome. Hidden lights under the eaves cast a soft glow that makes the house feel warm without drawing attention. Uplights on trees add depth and texture to the yard. And one of my favorite tricks is weaving string lights into our willow’s branches.

The effect is subtle, almost magical, as if the yard itself were glowing. Lighting is the final layer and what makes the yard feel ready for long evenings with friends, quiet nights on the patio, or simply for enjoying the warm air after sunset.

Summer is the season when homes open up again. A little care in the garden beds, a refreshed lawn, a few intentional seating areas, a clean deck, and the right lighting can make your home feel ready for everything the season brings, from morning coffee outside to late‑night conversations under the glow of café lights.

Every spring, Washington’s GiveBIG campaign reminds us of something Edmonds has always lived out: Generosity isn’t a special occasion here – it’s part of the rhythm of our city. On May 5, neighbors across the state will be invited to give what they can, in whatever way they can.

And in Edmonds, a community made up of distinct little neighborhoods – from Perrinville and Firdale to Five Corners, Seaview, Meadowdale, and the Bowl –  that spirit shows up in countless small, steady ways.

Edmonds is home to an unusually rich network of nonprofits and service organizations. You see their impact in afterschool programs that keep kids supported, in food and housing services that help families stay afloat, in arts and cultural groups that give Edmonds its creative pulse, and in the civic clubs that quietly power everything from scholarships to community events.

No single article could capture them all, and that abundance is part of what makes this place remarkable.

GiveBIG offers a moment to lift up that entire ecosystem. Some residents will donate money. Others will volunteer, mentor, or help spread the word. Many will give simply by showing up – attending a performance, supporting a fundraiser, or lending a hand where it’s needed. In Edmonds, giving has never been one‑size‑fits‑all – it’s whatever you have, offered with heart.

What ties these efforts together is the same thing that ties our neighborhoods together: a belief that community is something we build with intention. Whether it’s a child who needs a warm coat, a senior looking for connection, a family navigating a tough season, or an artist sharing their craft, there’s an Edmonds organization ready to help – and a neighbor ready to support them.

As GiveBIG approaches, Edmonds has another chance to show what it’s made of. Not just beautiful views or charming streets, but a deep generosity that runs through every block and every pocket of this city. We have a huge heart. We always have.

This year, let’s keep giving – time, money, energy, whatever we can – and keep strengthening the community we love.

Mayor Mike Rosen, who has served since Jan. 1, 2024, delivered his 2026 State of the City presentation on March 16 at the Edmonds Waterfront Center, offering a detailed snapshot of City operations and the work happening across departments.

Tucked inside that presentation were the hidden gems – the small, surprising details that reveal what it really takes to keep Edmonds running while the rest of us are just hoping our favorite coffee shop isn’t too busy, the ferry line isn’t too long on a holiday weekend, and the city looks as beautiful as ever.

These were the standouts.

We outlawed “bawdy houses” before we had modern plumbing

Edmonds’ first three ordinances, passed in the city’s earliest months, read like a time capsule. One regulated the sale of “intoxicating beverages,” with a fee that would equal roughly $20,000 today. Another outlawed “bawdy houses” and “lewdness,” with fines ranging from $5 to $50.

And the third banned a long list of gambling games – faro, monte, roulette, and even something called “raw poker.” It’s a reminder that cities have always had to think about everything, even the things we no longer imagine.

One person handled more than 1,000 police records requests

The Edmonds Police Department processed more than 1,200 public records requests last year – and one specialist handled over a thousand of them. It’s the kind of quiet, meticulous work that keeps a city transparent and accountable.

Storm drains: 6,970 of them –  and more than 3,000 cleaned last year

Edmonds maintains nearly 7,000  stormwater catch basins. In 2025, crews cleaned more than 3,000, preventing flooding and keeping pollution out of Puget Sound. It’s the kind of infrastructure you never notice unless it stops working.

4 million gallons of sewage are treated every day

Every day, the city’s sewer system treats about 4 million gallons of wastewater. Crews cleaned more than 170,000 feet of sewer pipe last year and unclogged 51 backups. It’s not glamorous work, but it’s the backbone of public health.

Parks crews collected 100 tons of trash

That’s 200,000 pounds of trash removed from Edmonds parks in a single year. It’s astonishing – and a testament to how heavily our parks are loved, used, and cared for.

The city defends itself from 50 million intrusion attempts per month

Cybersecurity isn’t just for tech companies. Edmonds’ systems block roughly 50 million intrusion attempts every month. Even small cities operate in a global digital environment, and the threats are constant.

We maintain 8,103 street signs

And replaced 227 of them last year. Someone knows where every one of those signs is, what condition it’s in, and when it needs attention. That alone feels like a superpower.

And the human side: 222 neighbors supported

The City’s human‑services team coordinated support for 222 vulnerable residents last year. Many were experiencing homelessness or mental‑health challenges. These are the quiet, life‑changing efforts that rarely make headlines, but matter deeply.

@The takeaway

Cities are complex. Beautiful, yes. Scenic, absolutely. But also intricate, fragile, and full of moving parts most of us never see.

While we’re grabbing a latte, walking the dog, or admiring the sunset, someone is repairing a sewer line, pruning a park tree, reviewing a permit, or defending the city’s network from millions of digital threats.

And that’s what stood out most in this year’s State of the City: the sheer amount of invisible work that keeps Edmonds feeling like Edmonds.

Ken Grant

There’s a special kind of spark that happens when Edmonds gathers in the dark to watch a story unfold on the big screen. It’s simple, it’s shared, and it’s something this town has always embraced.

Throwback Thursdays at The Edmonds Theater (tickets are $5) taps into that familiar magic – a beloved idea that’s found fresh energy here, drawing neighbors together in a way that feels both timeless and very right now.

This isn’t just nostalgia. It’s connection. It’s energy. It’s a night on the town. It’s neighbors showing up for neighbors.

Working with Justin Pritchett, manager of The Edmonds Theater, has been a privilege for me as the screening sponsor. The theater itself is a treasure –  102 years old, independently operated, and still doing what it was built to do: bring people together through film.

In a country where single‑screen theaters have become increasingly rare, the Edmonds Theater is part of a shrinking group, with only a small fraction of America’s thousands of theaters still operating with just one screen. That rarity makes what we have here even more meaningful.

We’ve also partnered closely with Ryan Crowther at the Edmonds Chamber, who has been instrumental in helping spread the word and bringing more people downtown. Every third Thursday, you can feel the shift – more foot traffic, more conversations, more of that Edmonds buzz that makes this place feel alive.

The turnout has been incredible. Films like “When Harry Met Sally” and “Casablanca” filled the theater to the last seat, true sellouts that reminded us just how much Edmonds loves a night at the movies. And with upcoming titles like “Risky Business” and “The Breakfast Club,” it’s clear the next few months are going to bring that same packed‑house energy.

One of the highlights of the night is the pre-movie segment: trivia, giveaways, and support from local businesses that jump in to make the evening even more fun. Yes, it’s scary when someone puts a mic in my hands. The audience loves it, and it’s another way to shine a light on the small businesses that keep our town so vibrant.

And while I’m not usually a sentimental, “remember the good old days” type, I have to admit, being part of celebrating the big screen has been unexpectedly meaningful. I grew up going to the movies.

Even with a great setup at home, nothing compares to the real thing: the scale of the drama, the power of a great score, the nuance of thoughtful direction, the detail of intricate cinematography. Film deserves a big canvas. And so does community.

Throwback Thursdays isn’t just about classic movies. It’s about community, connection, cross‑promotion, having fun, and supporting everything local. It’s about celebrating the places and people that make Edmonds feel like home.

Shop local. Be local. Think local. And long live the big screen, and loving local.

I’m not an arborist. I definitely don’t play one on TV. But I do know a thing or two about getting a home ready for spring and leaving winter behind.

This year, that even included trimming the top of our plum tree so we could get a little peekaboo view of the Sound … and maybe end up with fewer plums bouncing around the yard come summer. We can never pick them up fast enough, even though we try to take the extras to the food bank.

While I was at it, I pruned back our roses, which turns out to be exactly the right time of year, and gave our ferns a thorough haircut. And because I was feeling ambitious, I started eyeing our ornamental cherry … until a little research taught me that one should wait until late summer. So that project is officially on pause, which honestly feels like a win.

Winter in Edmonds may have been mild, but it still leaves its fingerprints. Branches settle, leaves drift into corners, and the yard takes on that “just woke up” look. Then the light starts to shift, the tulips and daffodils push through, and suddenly it feels like the right moment to bring everything back to life.

Clear out the winter leftovers

A simple cleanup makes the biggest difference. Rake out the old leaves, gather the fallen branches, and trim back anything that stretched a little too far over the winter. It’s not about creating a magazine-ready yard (although this is Edmonds, and the bar is pretty high around here); it’s about giving everything room to breathe again.

Refresh the edges

Driveways, walkways, and garden borders always take the brunt of winter. A quick sweep, a little edging, and a reset of gravel or mulch sharpens the whole look of a home. It’s amazing how much cleaner and more intentional a yard feels with just a few minutes of attention.

Take stock of what’s working

Spring is a great time to notice how your yard actually behaves. Where does the light fall in the morning? Which corners stay soggy? What areas naturally invite a chair, a planter, or a small herb pot? You don’t need a master plan, just a sense of what makes your outdoor space feel good.

Bring in early color

You don’t need to know every plant in the yard to make spring feel like spring. A few pots of tulips or daffodils by the entry or on the porch add instant warmth while the rest of the yard catches up. These early pops of color do a lot of heavy lifting.

A quick nod to the inside, too

Spring prep isn’t only outdoors. This is also the time of year when the light changes inside the house, and suddenly you notice the windows, the baseboards, and that one closet that’s been quietly judging you all winter. A little cleaning and clearing indoors makes the whole home feel lighter, just like the yard.

Prep for the season you want

Whether you’re planning to grill more, grow a few herbs, or simply enjoy a tidy front yard, spring prep is about setting the stage for the months ahead. A little effort now pays off all season long and makes those first warm evenings feel even better