Bunting adorns picket fences, flags are flying, and crowds have arrived as the Vineyard prepares for the Fourth of July.

All roads lead to Edgartown Wednesday for the marquee patriotic festivities. One of the highlights is the annual Fourth of July parade, which steps off promptly at 5 p.m. from the Edgartown school. Marchers will turn right on Main street then left on Pease’s Point Way, curving around by the Harbor View Hotel, down North Water street, and end with a turn up Main street, where the big crowds gather to cheer, gather candy, and watch the floats go by on the way back to the school. Look for badges that indicate which floats were awarded with best float, most patriotic, most original, and the special award.

Come dusk all eyes turn to Edgartown outer harbor for the annual fireworks display, which starts around 9 p.m. Popular viewing places include Fuller Street Beach, North Water street, and Dock street.

Edgartown police and the town of Edgartown said traffic delays and closures will begin around 3 p.m. Wednesday and continue until about 11 p.m.

Main street, North Water street, Fuller street, and Morse street will be closed to parking starting at 3 p.m. At 4 pm. Dock street, Main street, and other roads in the parade route will close to traffic. Main street will be closed until about 7 p.m.; North Water street from Winter street to the lighthouse will remain closed until after the fireworks.

The Vineyard Transit Authority will reroute service during the parade.

Parking is available at the town parking lot at Dark Woods Road, located near the Triangle. There will be trolley service to downtown; the trolley stop and taxi parking is located on North Water street just off Main street starting at 7 p.m. until after the fireworks show.

Handicapped parking for the fireworks show will be available at the Edgartown Yacht Club.

The Chappaquiddick ferry will stop carrying cars between 4:15 and 6 p.m. during the parade (passengers will be carried). The ferry will shut down during the fireworks and resume service again at about 9:45 p.m.

Meanwhile, last-minute holiday scrambles included the need to move the fireworks barge farther out in the harbor due to nesting piping plovers at Lighthouse Beach. Edgartown selectmen’s assistant Kristy Rose took care of that detail.

And on Monday Mrs. Rose rushed to deliver the check to the town hotel where the fireworks technicians stay. The funding for the annual fireworks show is customarily approved at the annual town meeting, which meant the check could not be cut until July 1.

While the parade and fireworks are the big draw, events will unfold elsewhere around the Island throughout the day. At 9 a.m. the annual Murdick’s Run the Chop five-mile road race steps off from the Tisbury School; a fun run for kids 12 and under starts at 8:30 a.m. The race is a fundraiser for the Martha’s Vineyard Boys & Girls Club. Registration is $25 in advance online, $5 for the fun run, and $30 day-of.

As a warm-up to the big parade smaller children’s parades will take place earlier in the day in Oak Bluffs and Aquinnah. The annual Camp Ground parade in Oak Bluffs starts at 10 a.m. at West Clinton avenue; the parade is open to Island children and their parents (but no bikes or scooters) and is followed by an ice cream social.

The Old South Road Neighborhood Association will host the 16th annual children’s parade and treasure hunt in Aquinnah, starting with face painting and donuts at 5 Old South Road at 10 a.m. The parade kicks off at 11 a.m. and ends with a treasure hunt at Philbin Beach. Parking is on Moshup Trail.

From 4 to 6 p.m. the 12th annual dramatic reading of Frederick Douglass’s speech What Does the Fourth of July Mean to the Negro? takes place at Inkwell Beach in Oak Bluffs. Readers of all ages will recite parts of the landmark speech. The public is invited to attend the performance.

Edgartown also offers a slate of events before the parade. At 10 a.m. a capella group Vineyard Sound will sing the national anthem and other patriotic songs outside the Rockland Trust building on South Water street. Lobster rolls will be for sale throughout the day at St. Elizabeth’s Church on Main street. The Harbor View Hotel, which has a front row view for the parade and the fireworks, hosts an all-day celebration beginning with a barbecue at 1 p.m., and including arts and crafts and a family dance-o-rama.

Some summer Wednesday events will go on as always, including the West Tisbury Farmers’ Market at 9 a.m. at the Grange Hall and the Chilmark Flea Market at 9 a.m. off North Road.

While Independence Day ends for most with a fireworks display, music will also fill the air around the Island. From 8 to 9 p.m. the Trinity Park Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs will hold a patriotic version of the weekly community sing, featuring a guest appearance by soloist Robert Lewis Sims. The 150-year-old Vineyard Haven Town Band performs at 8 p.m. at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown.

And after the fireworks bars in Oak Bluffs and Edgartown will host music and dance parties into the night. Both towns extended bar hours for the holiday; in Edgartown last call on July 4 is at 1 a.m. with a 2 a.m. closing. In Oak Bluffs last call is at 1:30 a.m. and closing at 2 a.m. from July 4 through July 8.