The Chatham Independence Day parade is a keystone event for the town. Not many communities anywhere in the country make their parade this big, this important. It is part of the essential identity of the town. It is one of the oldest parades in the United States. For 2022, it is even more relevant and important as we all begin to come out of the Cloud of Covid.

The theme this year is “Chatham: Salty as Ever!” The parade starts at 9:30 am on Monday, July 4, 2022.

The lineup for the parade begins early in the morning on the fourth, with some starting at 7:00 am. The parade begins at Shore Road and Main and wraps up at Crowell Road/Tip Cart Road.

There will be prizes. The reviewing stand will be on the lawn of the First United Methodist Church at Main and Cross Street. There will be prizes for the best overall entry that comes with an engraved plaque displayed at town hall, second and third place awards, best youth entry, most patriotic, funnies, best family entry, best civic entry, best use of technology, and the most environmentally friendly entry.

Participants include Chatham Police Department, Chatham Veterans, United States Coast Guard Station Chatham, Chatham Town Band, Chatham Fire Department, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Model A Club of Cape Cod, Wicked Wavy Swim School, Chatham Anglers, Goodies, Chatham Hood Bikes, Monomoy Yacht Club, Chandler Travis Philharmonic, The Black Dog, Depot Dogs, Cape Cod Fiddlers, Redemption Rock Church, Wellfleet Veterinary Hospital, Lilly Pulitzer, Highland Light Scottish Pipe Band, Cape Cod Beach Chair Company, Chatham Bars Inn, Oyster River Boatyard, Chatham Republican Town Committee, The Chatham Fiddle Company, Summer Sitters, Cape Cod Power Squadron (America’s Boating Club Cape Cod), Cape Shark, Witches on the Water, Chatham Squire, Yarmouth Minutemen, Cape Cod’r, Chatham Democratic Town Committee, The Beach Fire Shop, and Chatham Pottery and many more.

Here is a video from the 2021 parade.

See the parade website for more information.