It was the tale of two entirely different days at Bristol’s annual Military, Civic, and Firemen’s Parade, which capped off the 238th consecutive Fourth of July Celebration on Tuesday morning.

Solid gray skies greeted parade viewers as they set up shop along Hope and High Streets during the morning, many opted for pop-up tents, others shielded under ponchos and umbrellas. It was anybody’s guess as to whether or not the day would be spared from a downspout. But just as organizers were lining up marchers and parade participants, the heavens opened wide.

“Just before it started it was a complete downpour,” said Parade Chairman Camille Teixeira. “Parade Orders of March were melting in our hands, which made it harder to line up everything and everyone. So there was a learning experience there.

“Make sure you have a laminated parade order.”

As parade viewers on Hope Street waited for the first marchers to arrive, the rain seemed to intensify. Those without a covering to scramble under asked to share space with tented neighbors, while others seemed to just embrace their fate and sat on sidewalk curbs under the deluge.

According to our archives, rain last besieged Bristol during the 2014 and 2012 parade celebrations, although Teixeira most strongly recalled a different rainy memory, for good reason.

“The irony is it actually rained on my parade back in 1992, when I was runner up for Miss Fourth of July,” she said. “I was in a slicker on a float and waving to folks. It rained that day too, all day.”

Aside from the complications caused by trying to line up and organizer marchers through a downpour, Teixeira said that some planned marchers in the parade had to bow out directly before the start, or even canceled the day prior to the Fourth. Those included beloved acts including the Singing Trooper, the Hallamore Clydesdales, and even the Marine Corps Marching Band.

“It was just something out of our control, unfortunately,” Teixeira said. “We were very fortunate it just rained the first hour. After the rain dissipated it was much easier to get people to line up…I am very grateful. I was honored and happy to be there too to celebrate Bristol, celebrate our independence and put on the parade we did as a team. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Enthusiasm wasn’t dampened
Within an hour or so of the parade beginning, the rain had totally stopped and sunshine began to peek through the clouds. But even at the height of the storm’s ferocity, it was difficult to find anyone on the route who said the weather had dampened their enthusiasm for the day.

“The people have been wonderful, and everything has been just so great,” said Massachusetts resident Linda Samuels, alongside her two friends Marzina Bockler and Paula King, who were enjoying their first parade at a table seat at Linden Place under colorful umbrellas. “We have noticed how overwhelmingly welcoming the people of Bristol are.”

“I think it's really fun. I was just saying to my friend that I've had four or five big events in my life, and every one of them have been involved with rain,” said one attendee, Mary, from New York who didn’t wish to give her last name. It was also her first parade.

Germaine Olear, a Connecticut native and Barrington resident who has deep connections to the parade, including building floats for several years, has attended each of the past 41 years. She said that the overarching purpose of the parade is what keeps her coming back, rain or shine.

“I think it’s important to show up, because it started as a military parade and I believe it’s important to stand up and salute the flag, and cheer for the veterans,” she said, voice wavering with emotion.

“A rainy day at the parade is better than a sunny day at the office,” added Olear’s daughter, Allison O’Neill.