Southport's Patriotic Parade on Wheels

Pequot Library's annual 4th of July Bike Parade took over Pequot Avenue in Fairfield's Southport neighborhood today.

The patriotic spectacle - a riot of red, white and blue, stars, stripes and balloons - did Uncle Sam proud.

Hundreds  of young families assembled on bikes and scooters, in wagons and strollers, as Southport's downtown area was closed to traffic and the parade stretched from the Five Corners of Southport's small business district to Pequot Library about two blocks west.

The idea was to decorate your wheels and yourself to the hilt in patriotic trappings and no one had a problem with that. In other words, excess was the order of the day.

Hot dogs, ice cream, face painting and old-fashioned games awaited all comers on the expansive library grounds. Bikes were left unattended unworriedly. The line at Pop's Ice Cream soon numbered 106.

Under the shade of majestic ancient trees, families relaxed, watered their dogs and tended to their children.

Alex and Pamela Drought of Southport were pleased their twins were taking the parade in stride.

After all, the 1-year-olds, James and Emma, are veteran parade watchers; they turned out for last month's  Blessing of the Fleet Parade.

Jammie Mandell ("Jammie the Gentle Clown") attracted a sizeable crowd at her face-painting table. All three Gueterman children - Grace, Caroline and Joe - were pleased with the results (flowers and swirls for the girls, a snake for Joe), as Mandell held a mirror for them.

A space was roped around a hula-hoop area and dozens competed in the sack race (prize: a $5 gift certificate for the upcoming library book sale.)

Pequot Library is celebrating its 50th annual book sale from July 23 to 27 and the parade is a kick-off for that happy event, one of the library's biggest annual fundraisers.

Pequot Library is privately-owned, but open to the public, and only 30 percent of its operating budget comes from the town of Fairfield. The rest is covered through fundraisers and private donations.