Long Islanders brave the heat to celebrate America's 250th birthday

The culmination of a yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary arrived Saturday with a sweltering heat wave as Long Islanders packed beaches, parades and backyard barbecues to commemorate the nation’s founding.

From New York City, where thousands gathered to watch tall ships sail up the Hudson River, to Southampton Village, where an annual parade is steeped in a century of tradition, Fourth of July revelers wore red, white and blue to display their patriotism.

The celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, continues Sunday and Monday with the FourLeaf Air Show at Jones Beach State Park, as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels headline the aerial display. Typically held on Memorial Day weekend, the airshow was pushed back this year to coincide with the 250th celebration.

In the Village of Massapequa Park, George Washington — aka Mayor Daniel Pearl — led the annual Independence Day parade Saturday morning aboard a float featuring a replica colonial-era wooden boat adorned with patriotic bunting.

He was joined by village officials dressed as Lady Liberty, Betsy Ross, Ben Franklin and others.

"This is the best of what the village has to offer," he said of the parade, which spans about a mile and a half along residential roads lined with American flags.

Soaring temperature

Some along the parade route set up stands with free water as the temperature soared into the mid-90s and others took shade under umbrellas or tents.

The mayor said the Fourth of July parade was the largest the village hosts and featured an expanded list of participants this year for the semiquincentennial. Several vehicles from the Museum of American Armor in Old Bethpage were featured along with veteran groups, firefighters, youth teams, pipe bands and more.

"There is no more patriotic community than the Massapequas," Pearl said.

Massapequa varsity baseball coach Tom Sheedy marched with most of the members of the team that recently captured the Class AAA state championship. He said as soon as the team was offered a spot in the parade, the players jumped at the opportunity.

"This is their hometown," he said. "As you walk down, you'll see the sidewalks were lined [with spectators]."

 As a Suffolk County resident, Sheedy said it was his first experience at the Independence Day parade in the community where he coaches.

"It's very cool, hometown-ish," he said." And that's a nice way to be. That's a big part of what America is all about."

At several stops along the parade route, spectators rolled out hoses to water down the marchers.

Trish Evangelista, of Babylon, helped a group of young kids, including her 5-year-old son, man the hose in front of her sister’s house on Park Boulevard.

"They’re loving it and everyone else in the parade is grateful," she said.

 The parade has become such a tradition that even the family who previously owned her sister’s house and their friends still come back to celebrate with them, Evangelista said.

The high temperature recorded at Islip hit 96 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. That fell one degree short of the July 4 record set in 2010, according to a weather service meteorologist.updated to show we hit 95. He did say it's currently 95 right now, so there's a chance it could still go up a degree, but for now that appears to be the high//jw 

By 1:30 p.m., Orient Beach State Park, Wildwood State Park and Hither Hills State Park on the East End, along with Hempstead Lake State Park, had filled to capacity, according to regional state parks director George Gorman.

The excessive heat, however, appeared to have suppressed attendance overall with lower figures than parks officials anticipated at the largest ocean parks.

 "The beaches are a little bit lighter because of the heat wave," Gorman said, adding that Jones Beach still outside of field 6 had "plenty of parking" at midday.

Revolutionary reenactors

The Southampton Fourth of July parade kicked off with shots fired from muskets by Revolutionary War reenactors. Women and girls in Colonial clothing followed closely behind carrying a patchwork-sewn American flag. Some in uniform honored those who have served and are now serving, while a band of bagpipes played "America the Beautiful."

People of all ages lined up with their lawn chairs on the sidewalks and neighboring grassy areas along the parade route. Jan Kumar has lived in Southampton for the past 28 years, and came 30 minutes before the start of the parade to find a spot on the grass for her chair.

"There are a bunch of school bands, which I love to see the kids," said Kumar, 76. "There are a lot of marching bands that are just so uplifting."

Cutter Koster grew up in Southampton, where the parade began in 1920, and is now raising a family of his own here. Koster’s family owns a fish market right off the parade route. Koster, 39, came to the parade with friends and his family, including his two young boys, whose favorite part of the parade is the fire trucks.

"Seeing the amount of patriotism that's happening in this country recognizing the 250th anniversary, it really makes the crowds more excited," said Koster. "It makes them bigger, and it makes everybody more fired up to participate." 

Newsday's Tara Smith contributed to this story.