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A small flag and bunting on the rail of a float, with kids in stars and stripes riding along in Edgartown’s Fourth of July parade.
The full 4th of July parade in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard. Firefighter vehicles, marching bands, and patriotic celebrations through this historic town.
The Edgartown Fourth of July parade goes back to 1844, when the town was at the height of the whaling era. The 2026 parade, held on the nation's 250th birthday, was the 182nd; the next one steps off Sunday, July 4, 2027.
Filmed July 2024The island moves on: shops, signs and prices may differ from what you see here. The text of this guide was checked October 2026.
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The parade starts late in the afternoon, at 5:00 PM, and locals listen for the chimes on the Old Whaling Church clock: "When it hits the fifth one, off we go!" It sets out from the Edgartown School parking lot, heads down Main Street, past the Edgartown Lighthouse, continues along Fuller Street and North Water Street, and loops back around downtown.
The line of march includes community floats draped in red, white and blue, marching bands (Sutherland Pipe Band, Colonial Navy Band, Vineyard Haven Band), decorated fire trucks including the 1855 Lysander Button Company fire engine, classic cars, American Legion Post 186 veterans, Camp Jabberwocky with its decorated red bus (always a crowd favorite), children on decorated bikes, Island Alpaca, and oxen. Kids scramble for the candy and beaded necklaces thrown from the floats. (See our post on the camp.)
The pipe band coming down the street in kilts, with people lining both curbs and one big flag waving at the edge.
The fireworks start at dusk, around 9:00 PM, from a barge in Edgartown Harbor, so you see them over the lighthouse. Memorial Wharf and Lighthouse Beach are good places to watch, and charter boats run fireworks cruises if you’d like to be on the water.
Fireworks over a harbor, the crowd along the shore as silhouettes.
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A house-sized flag hung across the front of a house on the Fourth, with the low sun behind it.
Thousands of people line the route, and downtown parking is very limited. The Park and Ride lot near "the Triangle" has shuttle buses, and the free VTA bus is the other easy way in. Chairs and towels appear along Main Street hours before the parade, so it pays to come early.
For more on the town, see our Edgartown Town Guide (2026) and the Old Whaling Church next to the Fisher House.
A harborside restaurant in Edgartown at night on the Fourth, bunting on the roof deck rail and every seat taken.
Filmed July 2026
Step 1 · WhenMonth PickerTwelve months compared on NOAA numbers, crowds, prices and what is open. 
Step 2 · DaysDay-by-Day Trip PlannerMorning, afternoon and evening sketched for every day, events dropped in, emailed to you. 
Step 3 · CostTrip Cost CalculatorFerry, beds with the rooms tax, meals, getting around and activities in one price range. 
Island tip of the day Timing No. 58 of 79 New tip at midnight, island time
Oak Bluffs restaurants are packed 6–8 PM. Eat at 5 PM or after 8:30 PM: same food, half the wait, easier parking.
Halloween on Martha's Vineyard 2026, town by town: Edgartown's Happy Haunting on Sunday, October 25, Halloween in Oak Bluffs on Saturday, October 31, the museum's Halloween on the Hill, the library events, haunted Edgartown walks and Circuit Arts' revue at the Grange, plus how the Vineyard Haven puppet parade ran in past years (set for October 31 at 4 PM).
New Year's Eve on Martha's Vineyard: the $150 dinner over the lit harbor, the two-seating table in Edgartown, live music at the Ritz, the family First Night at the Playhouse, where the lights are, what runs on the holiday (the ferry does, the reservation office does not), what is open on New Year's Day, and the empty January that begins the week you leave. 2026–2027 dates.
Columbus Day (Indigenous Peoples' Day) weekend on Martha's Vineyard: the last weekend of the seasonal island. The Artisans Fall Festival at the Grange Hall, the Derby weigh-ins, the last Ocean Park concert, what closes on the Monday (Island Queen, Seastreak, the Chappy gatehouses), what stays open, the half-price rooms, and a Friday-to-Tuesday plan.
Labor Day weekend on Martha's Vineyard, hour by hour: the Artisans Festival at the Ag Hall, the jazz weekend in Oak Bluffs, First Friday, the last guarded swim while the water is still summer-warm, which ferries make their last sailings, how to survive the Monday exodus, and why staying to Tuesday is the best trick. 2026 and 2027 dates.
Memorial Day weekend on Martha's Vineyard, explained: the Friday March to the Sea at Owen Park, the Monday parade in Vineyard Haven, the Artisans Festival at the Grange Hall, the first Island Queen and Gay Head Light climbs, what is still closed, the prices, and a three-day plan for May 29 to 31, 2027.
Martha's Vineyard has two fireworks nights: Edgartown over the harbor at dusk on the Fourth of July and Oak Bluffs off Ocean Park on the third Friday of August (canceled in 2026, back in 2027). Where to stand for each, the street closures and blanket rules, the free bus, the ferry diversion and how to get home.
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