The Fourth of July holiday weekend proved a busy time for Island first responders, who responded to several calls, including a fire in a downtown Edgartown restaurant Saturday morning.

On no other summer afternoon would there be so many empty parking spaces in downtown Edgartown, But the Fourth of July parade was about to begin and crowds gathered on porches and lined sidewalks to celebrate.

Barbecues, road races, and lobster rolls are on the agenda and parades are planned at both ends of the Island as the Vineyard welcomes one of the busiest days of the year. All eyes will turn to Edgartown tonight for the annual Fourth of July parade and fireworks.

It happened while we weren’t looking. Sometime after Memorial Day beautiful, sexy Summer sneaked up on gnarly old Winter and tackled him. Enough! Summer said. It’s my turn now.

On Saturday, for the tenth year in a row, a group of readers took turns reciting Frederick Douglass' speech The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro. “It’s important for people to remember the impact of slavery because it’s not only a part of our history, but it’s a part of our present,” said Makani Themba, the organizer of the reading.

The Fourth of July weekend, off to a quiet start with festivities dampened by heavy rain and winds, was relatively quiet for police, but busy for the Steamship Authority. The weekend began with wind and rain associated with Hurricane Arthur.

The parade is a lesser known but well-loved Island tradition. At least 150 marchers and spectators turned out for the parade on Saturday, which marched down Old South Road and ended at Philbin Beach, where kids followed a treasure map and dug up a chest full of candy.

They rode on creatively crafted floats, walked, danced, rollerbladed and drove antique cars, trucks and bicycles. Children raced to collect candy hurled into the streets. Fire trucks sprayed water to cool down the crowd. And the Fourth of July celebration in Edgartown was declared a great success.

Flags were hung and picnics prepared, but many Fourth of July festivities, including the centerpiece Edgartown parade and fireworks, had been postponed by a day as the first hurricane of the season approached the northeast.

With two hours to go until parade time, the sun shone on the lines of brightly-decorated floats that filled the parking lot of the Edgartown School Thursday afternoon. Their occupants, which included members of organizations from across the Island, milled about. When the time came to begin, the parade started with a bang — literally.