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Inside Edgartown's 4th of July: the Main Street parade with fifes, floats, classic cars and Camp Jabberwocky, then fireworks over the harbor, with photos, video and tips for doing the day right.
New England has plenty of Fourth of July celebrations, and Edgartown’s has a feel of its own. For one afternoon every summer, this quiet whaling town of white picket fences turns its historic Main Street into a river of flags, classic cars, bagpipes, fire engines and hand-painted floats, and after dark it finishes with fireworks over the harbor. We spent the day in the middle of it.
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By mid-afternoon the shady spots along Main Street and Church Street are already claimed, and the island’s unofficial tradition is on full display: rows of empty beach chairs lined up against the bunting-draped fences, saving spots for owners who won’t be back for hours.
Chairs on the honor system, saving spots along the route long before the parade steps off.
The whole town dresses for the day. Storefronts and restaurants along the route (Alchemy, Atria, The Port Hunter, The Covington, the Seafood Shanty) hang lanterns and bunting, picket fences bristle with little flags, and Edgartown Town Hall is hung in red, white and blue.
It’s an old-fashioned small-town parade, and it opens with the color guard. The Dukes County Sheriff’s Office leads the way, the sheriff himself out front in a bowler hat carrying the Massachusetts state flag, followed by an honor guard in full dress.
A man in a bowler hat and white gloves leads the Dukes County Sheriff’s color guard, the Massachusetts state flag up front.
Right behind them comes a crowd favorite, the Colonial Navy of Massachusetts out of Fall River, marching in full Revolutionary-era uniform with fifes and drums. On a Fourth of July in a town this old, the tricorn hats and the 1776 theme look right at home.
The Colonial Navy of Massachusetts (Fall River) brings fifes, drums and full Revolutionary-era dress.
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A good chunk of the parade is rolling stock. Antique fire engines, including a gleaming vintage pumper, roll through to big applause, along with a parade of classic cars: a cherry-red 1950s pickup with an “Edgartown” placard on the door, a black Ford Model A, whitewall tires and all.
An antique fire engine, a favorite with the kids along the route.
Classic cars are a parade staple. Candy gets tossed to the crowd from more than a few of them.
The floats come from the island’s camps, clubs and community groups.
Camp Jabberwocky, the Vineyard camp for people with disabilities, rolls through on its unmistakable bright-red bus, with campers carrying hand-painted signs celebrating island landmarks and local businesses. It gets some of the loudest cheers every year. The camp’s story is in our Camp Jabberwocky post.
Camp Jabberwocky’s red bus, one of the most cheered entries every year.
Then the bagpipes: the Martha’s Vineyard Scottish Society marches through in full tartan, and you hear them a block before you see them. There’s a shark-themed paddle-sports float (this is Amity Island, after all), and community groups like the Oak Bluffs Tree Stewards handing out their “Volunteer to Plant Trees” message between the flags and the fife music.
You hear the pipe band a block before you see them.
A shark makes an appearance, a nod to the island’s most famous summer resident.
Photos miss the bagpipes and the applause, so here is our video from along the route:
Filmed July 2026
After the parade winds down, the day shifts to the water. As the sun sets, crowds drift toward the harbor, restaurants like the Seafood Shanty light up over the water, and everyone waits for dark. The fireworks go up right over Edgartown Harbor and reflect off the water and the anchored boats, which makes it one of the prettier places in New England to watch them.
A gold burst over Edgartown Harbor on the Fourth, with smoke hanging low under it.
Gold sparks and drifting smoke over Edgartown Harbor. The show goes up over the water, so the harbor front is where people gather.
Edgartown Town Hall, dressed for the Fourth.
Together, the parade and the harbor fireworks make one of the best free days on Martha’s Vineyard. You can see the full set of photos from the day in our Edgartown photo gallery.
See the full Edgartown gallery →
Exploring the town? Start with our complete Edgartown guide: food, beaches and parking.
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