Sitka's Fourth of July party is back — just leave the car behind

Sitka knows how to do the Fourth. This year's celebration brings the usual downtown parade, a Coast Guard search-and-rescue demonstration, and the event locals really turn out for: the annual water fight between the Sitka Fire Department and the Coast Guard. But getting to the party means leaving the car behind — the city is closing its two main downtown streets for much of the holiday weekend.

Katlian Street shuts to traffic every day from Friday through Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., between Lincoln Street and Totem Square. It reopens each evening, but don't leave a car parked in the closure zone overnight — that's off-limits all three nights.

The Fourth itself is the big one. Lincoln Street closes for the 1 p.m. parade, and parking downtown disappears starting around 9 a.m. The closures ease through the afternoon and everything reopens by 6 p.m., but for most of the day the heart of downtown — from Totem Square past St. Michael's Cathedral to the harbor — belongs to people on foot.

The upshot is simple: park early or walk in, watch for the barricades, and give yourself extra time. Then go enjoy the water fight.