Freedom at the Arboretum celebrates independence and democracy without the partisanship
More than 100 people came to the John A. Finch Arboretum Tuesday afternoon to celebrate America’s birthday – only without the signature hot dogs, apple pie or fireworks.
Freedom at the Arboretum is an annual Fourth of July picnic that honors what event organizer Mark Westbrook called the true point of the holiday: equality, freedom and, above all, democracy.
“I have no right to tell you what to do, and you have no right to tell me what to do, if we’re all the same,” Westbrook said, referencing the Declaration of Independence. “So we pretty much have to go with democracy. We need to work together for who we are and what we wish to be as a city and as a country.”
The event is something of a Westbrook legacy. Mark’s father, Tom Westbrook, held the first picnic in 1962 as a way to celebrate the Fourth without the divisiveness of politics. Mark Westbrook recalls being about knee-high when his father was called a socialist and a “Commie” at an Independence Day celebration in their early years in Spokane. Out of the need for a nonpartisan event that emphasized common ground over differences, Freedom at the Arboretum was born.
Sixty-one years later, the picnic is still kicking, featuring live music, speeches and meet-and-greets with candidates for various offices. Attendees gathered in the grass, each with a nametag to inspire conversation.
Mark Westrbook is at the wheel, with a third generation of Westbrooks in the passenger seat.
“This event is rooted in the idea that politics is just talking to each other; it’s not necessarily arguing, it’s just finding common ground with friends,” said Severyn Westbrook, Mark’s son who’s been to the event every year of his life.
A collection of candidates for races around the region set up tents and mingled with attendees. Some county officials, including the sheriff, Superior Court clerk and auditor, spent their day off in the arboretum and urged civic participation.
“Democracy is not a spectator sport. You do not sit on the sidelines and let others speak for you, do for you and let you take from this country and this democracy,” said Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton, noting that voting is what keeps her in business.
Each year, the event features a “Stir the Pot” speaker, sometimes a controversial figure. This year, Rev. Paul Graves, a columnist for The Spokesman-Review and FāVS News, delivered a speech on evaluating the foundations of our beliefs and values.
“Review them. Refresh those that give you hope. Reconsider those that give you despair,” Graves said. “Act in ways that replenish those values on a daily, personal basis and always act in ways that solidify your common ground with others.”