Stonington — Matt Rizzo played “You’re a Grand Old Flag” on the kazoo as he marched down Water Street Tuesday among throngs of people dressed in red, white and blue for the Stonington Historical Society’s annual Fourth of July parade.

Rizzo, of Omaha, Neb., said he traveled to Stonington to visit friends and “for the opportunity to play the kazoo in public."

The parade began at 10 a.m. at Wadawanuck Square, where organized groups including the Junior Colonials Fife & Drum Corps of Westbrook gathered among people waving flags from the street, children riding bicycles decorated in red, white and blue and people walking dogs wearing flag-print bandanas.

“It’s hard to know which children are ours,” said Maggie Slichter, director of advancement for the New England Science & Sailing Foundation, deciding she couldn't estimate the number of campers marching in the midst of children joining the festivities from the street.

The parade has been an event in Stonington since at least 1986, and is a participatory parade, so residents join from the street whenever and wherever they wish. “It may be the only parade that not only has participation in it, but we read the Declaration of Independence,” said Rob Palmer, past president of the Stonington Historical Society.

Kevin Costello and Alden Alexander dressed as Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty for the event, which they’ve marched in for at least five years. The costumes didn’t breathe very well, but they were worth it, Alexander said.

“We just have more fun trying to make people smile here," she said. "We just love this town so much, and every year, more people are marching."

"Everybody has a good time. It looks completely disorganized but it's just fun for everybody," said Michael Adair, a burgess and commissioner of fire and emergency management. He waved from the steps of his house on Water Street, as the Stonington Borough Fire Department truck rode by.

"Dad, it's the definition of a small town New England celebration," his daughter, Virginia McCarthy said. "It doesn't get any more New England than this."

Back at the square, Palmer told the crowd this year’s theme relates to immigration and Stonington’s extended families with Portuguese heritage.

Four people of Portuguese descent took turns reading the Declaration of Independence: James Costa, whose parents were born on the Island of St. Miguel, Azores, and who last month earned the rank of Eagle Scout; Eleanor Dunn, whose grandparents owned two businesses in the borough during the 1940s and early 50s; David Pacheco, who served two terms as a burgess and was a longtime member of the Steams Fire Engine Co.; and Fred Souza, a former borough tax collector and clerk and former officer of the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society.

After the reading, Palmer asked the crowd, “What say ye of this declaration?”

“God save these United States,” the crowd replied, “And a pox on King George.”