Walking and waiting sounds like they really don't go together. However, this is the most exciting time to be in Bristol because the 4th of July Celebration is a tremendous event here. Beginning on June 14, Flag Day, numerous events and activities take place, maybe a little more slowly in the beginning, but building up more and more as the holiday draws nearer.
It starts out with a flag raising ceremony and patriotic concert at the town common. There is a Miss 4th of July and a Little Miss 4th of July pageant, a soap box derby, and an old-timers baseball game. There are free concerts held in the waterfront park on Bristol Harbor. There are official Bristol 4th of July buttons, t-shirts, rain slickers, and other items for sale (all to help the Bristol 4th of July Committee). Flags may be on display on many Bristol homes and businesses year 'round, but more and more flags will be added, as well as a multitude of red, white, and blue decorations. A giant flag is hung over the main street in the center of town and the stripes on the roads that cover the full length of the parade route are painted red, white, and blue.
Beginning with the weekend prior to Independence Day, the number of events increase. Because vacationers/visitors begin arriving at that same time, the streets and sidewalks start getting crowded, as so the spectators at the events. Along with this, homeowners, residents, and shopkeepers do their real "sprucing up"...housepainting and the laying of new driveways will usually be completed, lawns will be groomed and shrubs trimmed, porches will be swept and washed. One can see people out on the sidewalks and in the streets with brooms in their hands as they sweep the sidewalks and gutters clean. Hanging flowers and new potted plants will be placed around, yards will be cleaned up, and store windows will all be washed and decked out.
All of this is in anticipation of the holiday itself. The arrival of the carnival, the setting up of the reviewing stand, the arrival of the Navy ship and it's crew, the awards for contests winners, the firemen's muster, the drum & bugle corps summer preview competition, and the continuous in-flow of campers and vehicles with out-of-state plates are all part of the wait until the big parade. This year will be the 223rd Independence Day Parade in Bristol, making it the oldest, longest-running, most historical parade in America!
On the Saturday morning prior to 4th of July, at around 9:15 AM, I took a little walk through my immediate neighborhood area...just to enjoy the quiet and the beauty before everything and everybody in town woke up. The rest of the post are pictures of some of the homes I passed by.
12 comments on Walking and Waiting
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thx sharing again. Nice to see those decorated houses, its something very unknown here. We only flag with things considering our royal family (wont mention our orange-hypes lol)
It's so patriotic here that most flags will be displayed all year. Buntings, banners and other decorations, though, may be present here and there, but they are always on full display for 4th of July and quite a bit for other patriotic holidays.
Your 4th activities sound and look amazing. I wish we had something like that around my area, although the navy ship would be a problem. We have no ocean, seas, or harbor inlets in Iowa!
Yep, I think that Navy ship would have a hard time reaching you! I was talking to a couple of the crew members of the ship tonight and one was an immigrant of Africa. He just loves this country so much and said he had now fallen in love with my town. He and his comrade said they hope they can come back every year... this is as they were each enjoying a giant ice cream cone.
WOW I knew it would be the topper event day for your area. thank you for sharing it all with us, and the photo's are great.
This is Bristol's biggest holiday and celebration. There is no other holiday that is celebrated so extensively and openly. When America celebrated it's Bicentennial year, there were over 300,000 people in town prior to the parade and over 500,000 for the parade itself...at the time, Bristol only had approximately 10,000 residents.
I just wish I could be there for it. This would get any American excited about our country's day of declaring its independence.
It is incredible how people really get into the holiday here. Everybody owns and wears red, white, and blue outfits, jewelry, accessories, etc. People will sing along and wave little American flags with every patriotic song they hear. People who can hear the National Anthem but are not physically at the site where it is being played will still stand and face a flag. It really is neat. Here's something else...Bristol is made up of a lot of Portuguese immigrants, many of which are not American citizens. Many will proudly display the Portuguese flag, but will always have an American flag, too, if not just the American flag displayed.
Happy Independence Day! Love your photos....
Thank you and thank you again. I hope you had a great day.
Bristol definitely knows how to throw a birthday bash for the US. We went to the Ancients and Horribles in Chepachet.
AJ
That parade draws a pretty good crowd, too, and it has for quite a number of years. I've never been to that one and, although I do like a horribles parade, I grew up with the Bristol parade and have family and friends around here...so, even when we lived in Johnston, we chose the parade here. I'm very patriotic at heart, so it's the patriotic part of Bristol's parade that makes it special to me, although I love the civic part of it, too.