Sixteen years ago, five Aquinnah families decided they didn’t want to make the trek into Edgartown on July 4. So they started their own tradition.

In the cooling shade of the Oak Bluffs Camp Ground, about 150 kids and their families walked, biked or got a ride in a stroller Wednesday morning during the 21st annual Fourth of July children’s parade.

From the Chilmark Store to Inkwell Beach in Oak Bluffs, Vineyarders of every stripe gathered to celebrate Independence Day. The day dawned hot and sunny.

The words of Frederick Douglass rang out from the Federated Church in Edgartown Tuesday, as readers recited the abolitionist orator’s famous speech.

Cutting ties with the federal government has liberated the Vineyard’s free summer lunch program, which begins its second season July 9. The program is sponsored by Island Grown Initiative.