Fourth of July....on the third

Today we celebrated Independence Day. We love the 4th in Delta. There is a big parade, games in the park, free swimming, free movies, a demolition derby, fireworks, bbq's, friends, family, everything you would expect at a small town celebration.
The day starts at 6:00 am (I believe -- I never actually check the clock) with the American Legion setting off blank cannon shots around the valley. This signals the start of the festivities I suppose. There is a community breakfast in the park run by the Boy Scouts (for a small fee, of course). We didn't make it this year. Slept in too long. Just before the parade there is a fly over from some fighter jets. It was rather disappointing this year. They flew over the trees and didn't come back for a second pass like they usually do. Oh well.
The parade follows the fly over with the regular line up. Flag at the front with the VFW and AL following behind in the back of a pick-up truck. (I remember when they used to march in the parade. . . ) There are floats from local businesses, local politicians usually ride in nice showy cars, the high school band marches and plays music, dance team dances, cheerleaders cheer, beauty contest winners wave, candy is thrown, horses prance, etc. A few derby cars bring up the rear to get people excited to see them destroyed later.
Immediately following the parade we went to the festivities at the city park. There were some blow-up bounce house/slide contraptions that were a BIG hit with the littles. I wandered and visited old friends. I ate a deep-fried Oreo. I am ashamed to say it was *cough* pretty *cough* good. Apparently you can get anything deep-fried now. Because a Twinkie isn't bad enough. We'd better cover it in batter and dip it in boiling fat. Yup.
So. After the park is the bbq part of the program. Then swimming, although we opted to beat the crowds and have the kids swim in an inflatable pool in the backyard. Friends came by. We ate, talked, laughed. The works.
That night we lit off fireworks. Roy and I bought fireworks with us. We had some great ones called Festival Balls. They were great and slightly less than legal. In fact, my friend Emily had seen them from over near the derby and been joking with her sister about how those people setting those fireworks off had to be crazy because everyone could see them. How dumb. Then Emily came over and got into the spirit of things herself. Roy loved them. He liked the loud "BOOM" the most I think. The kids were less than thrilled about them, but they loved the bottle rockets and Piccolo Petes which was more than a little surprising given how loud those are.
By and by, another successful Independence Day celebration!