Mark Goldstein of New Jersey stars as Uncle Sam in the last year’s Bristol Fourth of July Parade.

The Providence Journal / John Freidah

They’re back. And it’s not exactly a surprise. After 224 consecutive years, you start to notice a pattern.

Marchers meet in Bristol.

It’s Independence Day Saturday. And in Rhode Island that means one thing: the Bristol Fourth of July Parade.

Of course, it actually means plenty of other things, because there are parades, festivals and lots of fireworks, too. But if you’re thinking BIG, you’re thinking Bristol: 100,000 spectators, hundreds if not thousands of participants, dozens of floats and bands, and numerous dignitaries. And everyone follows in line — a red-white-and-blue stripe down the center of the street.

There is patriotism. Then there’s fanaticism. Welcome to Bristol.

“We eat, sleep and drink the Fourth of July,” says Judith Squires, the parade’s chairwoman. “But it’s fun.”

Here’s a bit of that fun, some of the special “characters” in this year’s parade: Wally the Green Monster, the Red Sox mascot; Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob Squarepants; Spiderman and Wolverine; and the 501st Legion Storm Troopers, costumed Star Wars soldiers.

There are also notable vehicles: the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile, the gorilla/clown car, and the Rhode Island Wheelmen on old-fashioned high-wheel bicycles.

There will also be lots of music, some 17 marching bands. These include several local bands, such as Mt. Hope High School in Bristol, Lincoln High School and the Navy Band Northeast. The farthest traveling band, the one that closes up the parade, comes from Kerkhoven, Minn., the Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunberg Marching Saints.

And there will be 27 floats. This includes a float featuring all-American sports; another featuring the winners of the Orange Crate Derby; and another with winners of this year’s Miss & Little Miss Fourth of July pageants. Raytheon is sponsoring a float featuring George Mendonsa; according to Squires, Mendosa is the sailor who at the end of World War II was pictured on the cover of Life magazine kissing a woman in Times Square. Squires says that woman, Greta Friedman, will be on the float with him. .

Among other float sponsors are Roger Williams Park Zoo and the Court House Center for the Arts.

The most important part of the parade is the people. This year’s parade marshals are Joseph Coelho Sr. and Joseph Coelho Jr., father and son, and longtime contributors to the community. Governor Carcieri and Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts will participate, as will Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and Representatives James Langevin and Patrick Kennedy.

At the moment, conspicuously absent from the parade line-up is Buddy Cianci. The former Providence mayor was a perennial parade participant from 1974 to 2002. That’s when he went to prison for five years, convicted of federal racketeering conspiracy. But last year, Buddy came back, and the crowd went wild.

So naturally the question arises, will Cianci be there this year?

“Not that I know of,” says Squires.

But there will also be lots of government representatives, particularly police and fire officials, and, most notably, military personnel.

“The response for them is usually just phenomenal. It’s a time for us to show our appreciation for what they do.”

And it’s a time to show appreciation for what they’ve done. Veterans are a conspicuous part of the parade. There will be groups of disabled veterans, Italian-American veterans, all kinds of veterans: from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the ongoing war in Iraq.

“We are able to do what we do because of the veterans” Squires says.

What Bristol does on July Fourth is an all-year undertaking.

“It’s non-stop. It starts all over again right after the parade.”

But last year, after the parade, Squires rebelled for a day, or at least for a few minutes of a day. She went for a walk with her husband.

“We decided we weren’t going to talk about the parade,” she says. “Of course, we talked about the parade.”

There’s a lot to talk about.

The Bristol Fourth of July Parade starts at 10:30 a.m. Parking is permitted on the streets where available, and there’s a parking lot at the corner of Hope Street and Gooding Avenue. For more, including information about Friday night’s 20th annual Drum & Bugle Corps Competition, visit july4thbristolri.com.