Fourth of July started out in style on the Vineyard with short but sweet parades in Oak Bluff and Aquinnah. In a tradition started 19 years ago, marchers of all ages gathered at the Camp Ground in Oak Bluffs for a kid's parade around the Camp Ground's famous gingerbread houses. Parade grand marshals Jodie and Bob Falkenberg led a parade of children, adults and dogs, all properly adorned in red, white, and blue. Bicycles and wagons were decorated for the occassion as the merry band marched on.

In Aquinnah, the 13th annual children's parade made its way down South Road and traveled past the newly-relocated Gay Head Light. Len Butler, one of the champions of the relocation effort, was this year's parade grand marshal. The parade, put on by the Old South Road Neighborhood Association, was followed by a treasure hunt on the beach.