Fourth of July festivities begin at Inkwell Beach for the Polar Bear swim, a gathering of community and baptism in the waters of Vineyard Sound.

Nearby in the Camp Ground, the annual children’s parade begins at 9 a.m. What it may lack in size is more than made up for by it’s youthful exuberance, whether you are two or 92.

Aquinnah also specializes in a small but mighty parade. The whole community sets off at 10 a.m., a wonderfully festive group decked out in costumes and riding homemade floats.

Back in Oak Bluffs, beginning at 11:30 a.m., the annual reading of Frederick Douglass’s speech What to a Slave is the Fourth of July? takes place at the Tabernacle. The event has long been organized by Abigail McGrath who died in December. This year, the event will also serve as a celebration of life for Ms. McGrath, founder of the Oak Bluffs artist retreat Renaissance House.

Mr. Douglass’s speech will be recited again by a wide variety of speakers on Saturday, July 5 at the Federated Church of Martha’s Vineyard, beginning at 11 a.m.

The annual Edgartown parade begins at 5 p.m. on July 4. Floats big, small, festive and musical lead the way as onlookers reach out for candy, paper hats and communal goodwill.

And at night, the fireworks will light up the sky over Edgartown, the traditional bombs bursting in air giving voice to Independence Day yet again.