Flags are unfurled, fences are festooned, the colours of the day are red, white and blue. Shops along Water Street and homes along Main Street have made a special effort to dress up. Streets are shut down and a crowd begins to gather. The fire engines are ready and people in uniforms mill about. There is a sense of frivolity coupled with tradition. The air is moist with a slight breeze, the skies overcast and foggy and everyone mingles, adding extra flags to their hats, to their coffee mugs, to their backpacks. Nearly everyone is dressed in stars or stripes, in red, white or blue or all of the above. Even the dogs. (Kudos to the guy in purple tiedye.)
And then it begins: the sweetest small town parade ever. A giant flag is unfurled and carried by men dressed in everything from traditional military costumes to tuxedos. The American Legion begins to march, the drummers drum and pipers pipe and tykes on trikes pedal their bikes.
The floats consist of a Sunfish sailboat and a kayak and as they all move forward the spectators become the parade. Dogs, kids, even remote controlled cars. Folks in wheel chairs. A pony. Anything goes. The parade flows down Water Street, cars honking, fire trucks flashing lights until they reach Cannon Square. On their left stands a memorial to the "defenders of the fort" along with 2 cannons used in 1814 that the town used to defeat the British Royal Navy. On the right is wonderful display of three stacked American Flags hanging from the porch of a classic New England house.
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The parade circles the square and then saunters up Main Street where everyone gathers beneath the shady trees near the Stonington Library in Wadawanuck Park for the reading of the Declaration of Independence. Four speakers take part and the crowd is hushed and reverent. Then the mob enthusiastically calls for "a pox on King George" and everyone sings the national anthem. The pride is palpable, hearts are pounding and the glorious celebration of America's birthday has begun, paving the way for picnics and fireworks and a long weekend reveling in freedom.
For more photos (same story) please visit: The World of Valerie Randall
