If this is the Fourth of July, there must be a parade on Ivoryton Main Street. At least for the last 14 years there has been. This year marks the 15th year of the march.

The parade will step off at 10 a.m. and march down Ivoryton Main Street to the Ivoryton Green on Sunday, July 4. And why would a Fourth of July parade be on any other day? This year, because the 4th falls on a Sunday, the federal holiday is on Monday, July 5.

“We wanted it on the fourth,” said Cotty Barlow, who with Lorraine Donovan is one of the co-chairs of the parade.

Marching groups, according to Donovan, include a fife and drum band, a military contingent, and a group of Irish dancers. The dancers will perform on the Ivoryton Green when the parade arrives there. Other contingents include volunteer firefighters, the Essex Town Ambulance crew, the Essex Garden Club, the Ancient Order of Essex Weeders, the Essex Historical Society, the Ivoryton Playhouse, the Ivoryton Library, and the Valley Regional Cheerleaders. Donovan says the list is still not complete and she hopes to hear from several other groups.

Though he is the emblem of another season, Santa Billy, who has strong connections to Ivoryton when he is not at the North Pole, will also be in the parade and on a vehicle that is not usually associated with Santa: a motorcycle.

The New Horizons Band of the Community Music School, under the direction of Patricia Hurley, will not march but seated in the gazebo on the Ivoryton Green, will play selections of patriotic music.

In addition to marchers, there will be classic vehicles, including cars, trucks, and tractors.

Owners of appropriately vintage cars don’t have to sign up in advance but meet at The Ivoryton Fourth of July Parade starts at 10 a.m. on Ivoryton Main Street. Fourth of July Ceremonies follow on the Ivoryton Green. Vehicles meet at 9:30 a.m. on Cheney Street.

The Ivoryton parade also welcomes youngsters, who are encouraged to decorate their bicycles and ride along in the line of march. Marcher and bicycles meet at 9:30 a.m. at the bottom of the Mill Race Preserve and Walnut Street.

And there are still other ways to be in the parade. Animals, appropriately restrained, are always welcome.

“Dogs on a leash are fine as long as their owners clean up after them,” Barlow said.

There used to be an even larger clean up issue: the miniature horses that were once a popular attraction in the parade. They are no longer part of the festivities.

“Cleaning up after them was a real problem,” Barlow said.

There is some sad news on the parade’s animal stars. Barlow said the marching pig that was a popular attraction for several years has passed away.

Susan Beckman of Ivoryton volunteered to revive the parade a decade and a half ago after she learned that a group that had formerly overseen the event could no longer do it. Along with co-chairs Barlow and Donovan, Chris Shane, Loretta Mccluskey, and Jim Francis make up the parade committee.

Free parking for the parade is available at several locations: the lot across from the Ivoryton Playhouse,; Privé Swiss on Route 154, and along Ivory Street on the same side of the street as Gather. The Ivory Street parking is new this year.

“Free parking signs will be going up. This is huge for the village going forward,” noted Shane of the Ivory Street parking.

Still, Barlow said many spectators do exactly what the marchers will be doing: walking to the parade.

The Ivoryton Fourth of July Parade starts at 10 a.m. on Ivoryton Main Street on Sunday, July 4. Fourth of July Ceremonies follow on the Ivoryton Green. Vehicles meet at 9:30 a.m. on Cheney Street. Marchers and bicycles meet at 9:30 a.m. at the bottom of the Mill Race Preserve and Walnut Street. Vehicles meet at the bottom of Cheyney Street, also at 9:30 a.m.