“The sun defied the weatherman by shining down on Oak Harbor’s Fourth of July parade.Hundreds of flag-waving kids and adults crowded Pioneer Way to watch the annual parade make its slow, festive way through downtown.The parade itself was a smorgasbord of the local and regional community, with entries representing everything from a meat packer to bag pipers to a half dozen hand-shaking, smiley politicians.Some of the highlights included the Greater Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce float with a miniature working lighthouse, a boat and a bridge, and the Sno-Isle Library bookmobile, with people dressed up as characters from children’s booksThere were 4-H creatures, the Waste Warriors’ friendly litter bug, the Whidbey Cruizers in their classic cars, and children dressed up in newspaper-related costumes for the Whidbey News-Times parade entry.The event was an especially big hit with the younger people in the crowd.One-year-old Megan Lacy is already a big fan of parades. She’s a little too young to talk, but that didn’t stop her from waving at the fire trucks or the giant Winnie the Pooh.She waves, that’s her big thing right now, her mother, Vanessa Lacy, said. Brothers Eric and Steven Rodriguez got pretty excited watching the parade from the curb. Four-year-old Steven said the best part of the parade was obviously the firetrucks, but he was really looking forward to fireworks.My favorite thing is the candy part, five-year-old Eric said. I like the bubbles too.Teen-agers Heather Beldman, Katherine Ebert and Alice Despopoulos also agreed about the best thing in the parade: Candy!Seven-year-old Cindy Pasqualetto said she was very happy to see the cheerleaders bounce by. I know some of their names, she said. They were in my cheerleading class and they taught me.Being part of the parade was also fun for some kids.Corey Johnson, 13, is a paper boy for Whidbey News-Times and road his bike in the parade.As the entrants lined up for the parade, Corey was practicing his breaking and skidding moves on his bike.Being in the parade was all right, Corey said, as he stuffed candy and hats for distribution in his paper bag. Asked if he was worried he might lose control of his bike, Corey smiled confidently. If I spin out, I’ll do it on purpose, he said.Three Oak Harbor cheerleaders prepped for the parade as they waited on the back of the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce float.Kristen Hall, Eliza Comicho and Sheila Rains said they’ve appeared in lots of parades in Oak Harbor and enjoyed every one. I like waving to people I know in the crowd, Rains said.It’s hot, sunny and feels good, Comicho added.Hall liked showing the cheerleader colors to the town.I like being noticed for our accomplishments, she said.One of the few hecklers in the crowd directed his words at the News-Times parade entry. Reporters can’t get their stories straight, said the man, stumbling out of a tavern.The parade, however, wasn’t just for youngsters. I really liked the fire department, said Ronnie Batman. His wife Carla agreed. Yeah, she said The old cars too.And for many, the parade was just the beginning of a fun-filled day.Kathy Jansen from Riverside, Calif., was up visiting the Northwest for the summer and was in Oak Harbor for the week visiting her father. She said she planned to barbeque hot dogs and hamburgers later.Marilyn Herman from Oak Harbor said she loved to see all the kids at the parade.They have such a good time, she said.She said she had a big barbeque planned, complete with ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken and beer. And if the rain decided to come?We’ll barbeque anyway, she said. We can always eat inside.”