OLD ORCHARD BEACH — It wasn’t hard to find the Ocean Park Independence Day Parade. Just follow the trail of families dressed in blue, red and white.

Little kids ran ahead of their parents, too excited and impatient for the parade to wait. In the distance, they could hear the cheers and claps and honks. Unicyclists, a person in a dinosaur costume, the Grinch on roller skates, multiple George Washingtons, the Maine Golden Beauty Pageant contestants and the Ocean Park Kazoo Band elicited cheers as they paraded down the streets of Ocean Park. 

The parade participants blew bubbles, sprayed onlookers with water guns, and gave out candy to the kids waiting with outstretched arms and cupped hands. 

Many people were dressed ready to go to the beach after the parade, armed with plastic buckets, towels and sunscreen. Afterward, some continued celebrating in their lawns, while others headed to the Saco Bay Artists art show and sale. 

Dwayne Turpin helped organize the art show, and there was a large turnout thanks to the Fourth of July festivities. 

But he said, for him, every day is the Fourth of July. His house in Buxton is covered in American flags, and he and his wife are both veterans.

“If you’re not a patriot, then you don’t belong in this country,” Turpin said. “You love it or freaking leave it.”

The country’s 250th birthday celebrates the freedom Americans enjoy because of the sacrifices veterans have made, he said. 

“Don’t ever give up the American dream,” Turpin said. “It’s a dream that only in America you can have.”

The Rev. David Robinson shares Turpin’s patriotism. The United States is the best country to live in, he said. 

He was a priest in Bath when the country celebrated its 200th birthday. 

“I didn’t know if I’d be around for the 250th,” he said. 

Fifty years ago, the country was moving in a more inclusive and positive way, he said, welcoming immigrants and protecting people’s rights. 

Now, it’s too divided. 

“We’ve stalled,” Robinson said.

Still, he has a lot of hope for the future of the county. It is filled with creative, positive and intelligent people, and they are a gift that should be celebrated, he said. 

On Saturday morning, he celebrated with six generations of his family. They sat together in lawn chairs in the driveway, offering free chips, cookies and homemade cake pops baked by Robinson’s grandchildren. 

He used to live in Kentucky, where people would have porch parties all the time to celebrate big events, and he wanted to bring that to Maine. 

Neighbors and community members stopped by to chat and grab some food. A young girl complimented the rainbows on Robinson’s hat and shirt. 

The Fourth of July is also a day to celebrate community, Robinson said, and Ocean Park is a beautiful one. Many families have been here for generations. When the tourists leave in September, the town becomes quiet again. Everyone knows each other, and Robinson loves greeting his neighbors when he walks his dog. 

Steve Kessler’s house was located along the parade route. His family has owned that house since 1896 and, today, it was completely decorated with American flags. 

The country has come a long way since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, Kessler said. 

“We just need to keep persevering and keep going,” he said. 

To him, the flag represents freedom.

“Family and tradition,” his wife, Kay Kessler, added. 

That’s also what the American dream means to them, plus a white picket fence and a dog, he said. And they’ve found that here in Maine.