The 45th annual Spirit of the Fourth Parade brought crowds of spectators and nearly 100 floats to downtown Rancho Bernardo to celebrate Independence Day on Monday.

Several local high school bands performed, as did a number of other community groups. A handful of politicians also got in on the parade, including San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, state Sen. Joel Anderson, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray.

Announcers Kendra and Jay Jeffcoat said a total of about 80 different floats participated in the parade. Valerie Brown also was scheduled to be an announcer. This year's Grand Marshal was Poway Unified School District Superintendent John Collins.

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