Noisemakers and lots of red, white and blue made for a lively Independence Day parade Tuesday on Main Street.
About 27 children from babies through age 5, along with parents and staff, from the YWCA's child care center walked up and down Main Street, waving flags and handing out candy.
Chanting "Hey, hey, hey, happy Independence Day," they marched along the sidewalk on foot and in wagons and strollers decorated in patriotic themes. They also dressed in patriotic colors, and some wore face paintings, visors and sunglasses in red, white and blue.
Olivia Gallagher and Aundi Oshfner dressed as Lady Liberty. Olivia, 5, was somewhat familiar with the Statue of Liberty, which she knew was in the United States. Children at the YWCA had been learning about the meaning of Independence Day in the days before the parade.
So what does Independence Day mean?
"You do fireworks," Olivia said with a big smile.
"I think it's the USA's birthday," said Adrien Layman, 5, when asked whose birthday is on July 4. Kaiden Helm, 5, thought it might be the earth's birthday, but whatever was being celebrated, he was all for it.
"It's super fun. You light fireworks," he said.
Kaiden and Adrien dressed as Uncle Sam for the parade.
"He's one of the presidents," Kaiden said.
"The president of the United States," Adrien added.
The best part of the parade for the two boys was throwing out candy, but Adrien was a little disappointed with the size of the crowd that happened to be downtown that morning.
"There should have been a lot of people," he said.
Those who did venture downtown at the time of the parade, though, seemed to enjoy the visual treat.