The kids were ready for action. My mom and sister made patriotic felt bags for each of the kids so that they could collect the candy that would be thrown from the parade floats.
There were many small timey, fun floats. Some were very creative, some were a bit more puzzling. This float, for example, consisted of kids on four wheelers. I'm not sure what the patriotic tie-in was, other than the red, white and blue decor. My brother assured me that four wheelers, in and of themselves, are patriotic.

To the delight of the melting crowd, a firetruck came by and squirted us all...

After the parade, we went to an adjacent town auditorium to watch a charming patriotic program put on by some very talented "townies" (including my mom and brother). My favorite part was when the emcee referred to the Parade Grand Marshalls, who had moved to the town 50 years prior from a town up the road, as "move-ins."

After lunch at the town barbecue, we headed back to Highland for some downtime, followed by sparklers and fireworks.