The nation's oldest continuous Fourth of July celebration returns to Bristol on Friday. The much-beloved Military, Civic, and Firemen’s Parade on Independence Day begins at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of Chestnut Street and Hope Street and ends on High Street.

From the sandy beach towns of Southern California to the rocky coasts of Maine, Americans celebrated the ratification of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 with flags, fireworks, hot dogs and par