It’s July Fourth Weekend in the Hamptons.  But am I going to a chic party?  Am I yucking it up with celebs?  Nope.  Because while the Hamptons may seem like the epitome of chic luxury, on July Fourth, it’s just like any other little American Town.

And that’s just the way I like it.

July Fourth brings the only parade on the East End of Long Island to the quietest of the Hamptons, Southampton.  It’s got antique fire trucks, and boy  scout troops, and cheerleading squads. There’s even a beauty queen: Miss Polish American.  Really.

The night before the parade there are fireworks on Coopers Beach (just named the Best Beach in the Country).  Take the kids. There’s nothing like lying on a blanket watching the sky explode with color.  The next morning the parade starts at the Southampton Train Station, goes down Main Street, past Hildreths, the world’s oldest department store, and around the corner to Jobs Lane and Agawam Park.

It isn’t chic, it isn’t fancy, it’s just a parade.  And it’s a reminder that no matter how big the homes, how fancy the stores, how expensive the shoes on the feet of the people shopping in those stores – The Hamptons is just a place like any other.  Celebrating America’s birthday with Fire Trucks, Fireworks, and little kids lining the sidewalks waving American flags. Two of them are mine.

Who needs chic when you can have all that?

Happy Hamptons Fourth of July.

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