Patterns identified from the data collected: 

1. Food (practices)– Food came up in all of my interviews, and much of the marketing I saw (online and in person) revolved around food. Burgers, hot dogs, ice cream, popsicles, pasta salad, corn, and various kinds of alcohol were all symbols that recurred in the data I collected. More specifically, there was a lot of images/messaging in the data around grilling.

Person 1: "... we'd make huge slabs of babyback ribs on the grill..."

Person 2: "I remember cooking out, grilling burgers and hot dogs..."

Marketing email from 7/1/25

Patterns identified: 

2. Red white and blue motifs (materials/practices) – Most of my interviews mentioned the American flag, or red, white and blue paraphernalia. The online marketing data was almost all red, white and blue themed– in the background or the text, or in the pictures within the marketing. *marketing images included on separate document

All three interviewees mentioned the American flag, or the colors red, white and blue at some point in the interview.

Patterns identified: 

3. Fireworks (practices)– Much of the data I collected mentioned fireworks in some way, whether visually (as in the online marketing), or orally, as in the interviews. Based on the data, fireworks are clearly part of the fabric of the holiday. *marketing images included on separate document

Person 3: "... celebrations including fireworks..."

Person 2: "... watching fireworks"

Person 1: "There would be fireworks at night..."

Patterns identified: 

4. Consumerism (language)– All of the visual data I collected is geared towards encouraging consumers to buy a product or products. A general feeling of consumerism and receiving targeted marketing came up in the majority of my interviews as well. One participant drew connections to Christmas: “Commercial activity seems to take over, and that becomes the point.” *see marketing images on separate document.

Person 3: "Commercial activity seems to take over, and that becomes the point."

Person 1: "... you usually end up spending more money than you want to."

Person 2: "We were pretty poor and there were a lot of us kids so we didn't really do anything out of the ordinary."

Historical Event: 

The tradition I identified near my community is the Kirkwood neighborhood 4th of July parade. Last year marked its 75 year anniversary. The parade started in 1949, after the conclusion of WWII. Initially, the Kirkwood community was meant to be for veterans who were returning from active duty and using their GI bill to purchase a home. In 1949, the parade started as four families decided to march around the neighborhood to honor their country and recognize their contribution to it. From there, it grew to be a neighborhood-wide tradition, and it has continued to grow since then.