My wife's family held a cookout at their home in Merrimack NH on July 4, and we all headed into town to watch the parade.

We got a spot right near the beginning of the parade route and got to see the whole procession.

The police and color guards started things off.

Then it was time for the Budweiser Clydedales from the nearby brewery, with the grand marshals, family members of Merrimack firefighters currently serving in Afghanistan with their National Guard unit.

They were followed by the New Hampshire Police Association Pipes and Drums.

The Shriners' Bektash Temple Calliope gave us a musical performance as it passed.

With the upcoming elections, there were lots of political candidates getting in on the act. Many of them had classic rides for the parade.

Governor Lynch decided that a truckload of kegs was just the thing to win him some votes.

The Teamsters' Union was on hand with this big rig.

All of the political parties were represented. Including the Libertarians.

There were floats from local clubs and organizations.

Clowns and mascots:

A couple of marching bands.

Historical reenactors.

And a whole collection of vintage military vehicles.

There was a group on motorcyles.

And the Shriners also had a contingent of mini-trucks.

Finishing things up were the town's new snowplow and some of its firefighting equipment.

It had been a long time since I'd been to a good old-fashioned July 4th parade. Merrimack certainly put on a fun event.