4th of July Parades

I grew up in a town where no one would have considered the 4th of July properly celebrated without the parade.  This was quite a formal event with high school marching bands, the volunteer firemen (we had two competing brigades) and police in dress uniforms, veterans groups, and  fraternal organizations all marching in step.  Then we moved to the next town east, and there the parade was a community affair.  Everyone dressed in red, white and blue, children decorated their bicycles with streamers, and dogs were expected.  The leisurely walk through winding lanes allowed for plenty of conversation among neighbors and friends.  The parade spilled onto a large lawn where the Good Humor truck failed to entertain squirmy children while a local dignitary gave an appropriately patriotic address. 

As an adult, I have lived in New York City, Southern California, north central Connecticut, and suburban Maryland, and I can tell you that a good 4th of July parade is hard to find.  However, I can happily report that on Block Island, they have a 4th of July parade that perfectly combines the two  versions I grew up with.  Anyone can create a float for the parade and entries range from a very professional looking replica of the ferry that transports people and goods to and from the mainland to vintage cars and trucks to a distinctly home decorated trailer whose intended theme was obscure.  This being the 350th anniversary of European settlement on Block Island, historical and birthday themes prevailed.  The entries are judged, with the Grand Prize awarded to a large group amusingly depicting important events in the Island's history: the cows who came off the ship at Cow's Cove in 1661, the Native American who greeted the cows, the arrival of tourists two hundred years later, and finally the 1994 founding of Froozies, the smoothie shop which sponsored the clever float.

The parade started at 10:30, but people claimed prime viewing spots with beach chairs as early as 8:00AM.  The assembled crowd, many waving flags and dressed in red, white and blue, cheered as the floats slowly progressed along the parade route led by, yes, the trucks belonging to the volunteer fire company.  Bagpipers in kilts, a fife and drum group  in shorts, the Norwich (CT) Free Academy marching band, a motley rock band, and a drum circle interspersed among the floats, members of the local American Legion post, and a very small contingent from the Rhode Island National Guard, played appropriately rousing music.  And don't forget the requisite unicyclist whom we saw arrive on the first ferry. 

This was a community event, wholeheartedly enjoyed by all generations, tourists, summer people, and Islanders alike.  When we stopped by a nearby bait and tackle shop later in the day, John Swienton asked me where we were watching the parade -- as it turned out, just a few hundred feet from where the Sweintons "always" watch the parade.  Likewise, friends from Dallas, renting a house for a week made sure they came to watch.  We legitimately worry about a disintegrating sense of community in the US.  But no one was "bowling alone" on Block Island this morning as we joined together to celebrate our nation's birthday with creativity, humor, and a little solemnity.  Maybe we should have more parades.