WACKY ANTICS AT CHEPACHET'S ANCIENTS AND HORRIBLES PARADE

GLOCESTER - It's probably a safe bet there wasn't a single Fourth of
July parade in the country Saturday that featured spaced-out
Rastafarians dressed in lab coats and flashing peace signs.

The "Medical Marijuana for All" float - a tribute to Rhode Island
becoming the third state in the nation to permit marijuana sales to
chronically ill patients - had the crowds attending Glocester's
infamous Ancients and Horribles Parade in stitches as guys with
dreadlocks and lab coats marched in front of a day-glo VW bus filled
with cannabis (fake cannabis, that is). Following behind the bus were
a couple of women pushing baby strollers with signs that read: "Pot
for Postpartum."

Famous for its mix of patriotism and irreverence, Saturday's 83rd
annual parade didn't disappoint as thousands lined the streets of
Chepachet village to take in the pageantry. Famous for spoofing the
latest in politics, news and entertainment, nothing is sacred as
Glocester locals put on a Fourth of July show that has been
entertaining northern Rhode Islanders since 1926.

Anyone who's ever been to Rhode Island's most wacky July 4th
spectacle knows anything goes and the state's new marijuana law got
the royal treatment Saturday.

The new law allows up to three non-profit stores in the state to sell
marijuana to patients registered with the state Department of Health.
The drug remains illegal under federal law, but President Barack
Obama's administration has said it will not target stores that
comply with state law.

Speaking of President Obama, Glocester locals poked fun at the 44th
President with a float called the "U.S.S. Bailout," which depicted
children in an aluminum rowboat bailing out water with cans, while
"President Obama" stood to the side pouring water just as quickly
back into the boat. A banner on the front of the float read: "Your
financial future is finally secure - our Kids will bail us out." A
second sign with one of Obama's campaign slogans - "change you can
believe in - was re-worded to say "debt you can believe in."

"Awesome," yelled one parade goer who nearly jumped out of her shoes
as the Yankee Volunteers of Seekonk let off a musket blast to the
cheers of the crowds.

The Ancients and Horribles parade typically lasts about 45 minutes,
but it's 45 minutes jam-packed with some of the weirdest sights
you'll ever see in an Independence Day parade.

One of the most sophisticated floats in this year's parade was called
"The Wild West," which featured a western montage of about 25 actors
engaged in gun fights, drinking in saloons, mining for gold and
presiding over a hanging.

The parade, which kicked off at the intersection of Money Hill Road
and Steere Farm Road and ended at Acote's Field on Putnam Pike, had
its share of vintage tractors and pickup trucks and tributes to the
men and women of the armed services.

The parade also featured classic cars, military units and a mix of
community organizations from the Chepachet Union Church to the
green-shirt clad members of the Pascoag 4-H Club.

And what would the Ancients and Horribles Parade be without the bands
and politicians. Waving to crowds were U.S. Senators Jack Reed and
Sheldon Whitehouse, Attorney General Patrick Lynch, and
Representatives Edwin Pacheco and James Langevin.

The parade grand marshall this year was Claire Clisdell, a longtime
town resident and parade-goer who has entered the parade's Decorated
Bicycle contest for the past eight years. Clisdell, who is in her
70's, is a longtime supporter of the parade.

The parade ended - as it does every year - with a contingent of fire
trucks from Glocester, Burrillville and Foster blasting their sirens
and horns.

Preceding the parade was Glocester's traditional Fourth of July Road
Race. The 35th-annual race featured four races: a 5=-mile race, a
1.75-mile race, a 1-mile race for children 8 to 12 years old, and a
half-mile race for children 7 years and under.