Fourth of July brings this neighborhood together

The people on Hayman Terrace don't need fireworks on the 4th of July to have a good time.

All they need is each other.

Every year, they close off the street and make their own fun.

Saturday's event was a day-long face-painting, beer-drinking, rib-cooking, watergun-squirting, Michael Jackson-dancing picnic.

Sure, the economy stinks. People are out of work. Parents are deployed. The list goes on.

What better reason for a party, said Penny Martinez, who organizes the annual July Fourth gala on the street of 1960s ranch homes off Circle Drive near Pikes Peak Avenue.

"We want it to be a time everybody will forget their troubles and have great day," she said. "Every one of us, we're working-class people. We are very rich in spirit."

She recruited sponsors to donate bounce houses for the kids, watermelons and prizes. A raffle raised money for a homeowner battling cancer.

Nearly every front yard had a grill and chairs for the free-for-all buffet that spanned 40 houses and drew about 200 neighbors, friends and relatives.

Lana Claus, a resident since 1962, bought 100 water guns for the kids, who knew better than to use her as a target. Down the block, Pete Gonzalez, a 13-year resident, built an elaborate skate park for the daredevils at heart.

Men in chef hats engaged in a friendly competition to cook the best ribs in hope of winning a ribbon and bragging rights.

"It promotes neighbors getting along and getting closer," said cook-off contender John Jones, whose house sits across Circle Drive from Will Rogers Elementary. He grew up on the street and moved back four years ago.

Kari Rubalbata moved on the block last fall to be close to the school.

"I was thinking it would be a normal Fourth of July," Rubalbata said as her three kids skated, bounced and danced in the street. "I think it's probably the best Fourth of July I've had."

Neighbors mopped up the mess afterward.

"All of us bring out our brooms and sweep the streets. We go from one end to the other and all kind of meet in the middle," Martinez said. "We don't go to bed until our street is put back together."