BRISTOL, R.I. – In July 1785, the residents of this waterfront town assembled to heap praise on their newly minted nation and to thank God for helping them survive a fierce assault by the British during the Revolutionary War.

STEVEN SENNE/The Associated Press

Kyle DaSilva, 7, arranges mock firecrackers as family members and friends work on a parade float. Bristol, R.I., has celebrated Independence Day since 1785.

Prayer, speeches and other such "patriotic exercises" have marked the Fourth of July in Bristol every year since 1785 – allowing the town to lay claim to the nation's oldest Independence Day celebration.

Over the years, the speeches – given by judges, senators, war veterans and others – have run the gamut from typical exhortations of patriotism to muscle-flexing against Communist countries to criticism of court decisions.

The patriotic exercises and annual parade that follows are institutions in Bristol, where pride in country is manifest in the red-white-and-blue center stripe that runs through the main artery of the town and in the American flags and banners that hang outside restored colonial homes.

The parade has continued uninterrupted with the exception of a few years – such as 1881, when President James Garfield was shot. Some events – like chasing a greased pig around the Common – have been abandoned, but modern-day fixtures include a concert series, a Miss (and Little Miss) Fourth of July pageant and a contest recognizing the person who has traveled the farthest.

"Sometimes we think we have red, white and blue running through our bloodstream because of our commitment to the celebration," said parade chairwoman Judy Squires, a lifelong Bristol resident and part of a committee of 110 volunteers that runs the event.

The festivities draw about 100,000 people, Squires said.

Residents describe it as an apolitical celebration that unites generations and brings regional recognition to this town of roughly 23,000.

"It's a great feeling, especially the age I'm at, to be able to get out and do it," said 91-year-old Bill McCarthy, a Navy medic during World War II who attends the festivities each year. "It gives me a good feeling to see everybody in a happy mood."

Eric Tucker,

The Associated Press

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