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The Pine Island Fourth of July parade 2018 started with residents lining Stringfellow Road with chairs and blankets. The kids were lining the edge of the road in order to snatch up the candy and prizes being thrown to them from parade participants.
The parking lot of Winn Dixie shopping plaza is always the staging point for the parade and Pine Island Businesses and organizations started lining up their floats around 9:00 AM, while finishing any float decorating.
The parade started at 10:00 AM with sirens blaring and traveled north on Stringfellow Road, with a few starts and stops on the way to the 4-way intersection, left on Pine Island Road and ended at the Elks Lodge.
The Pine Island's Fire & Rescue bring their trucks to kick off the parade. They were followed by the Lee County Sheriff's Department, American Legion Color Guard and various Pine Island businesses, organizations and community floats and bagpipes. The parade had about 30 plus floats or other entries.
After the parade the Elks Lodge was open to the public – all kids who participated in the parade received a complimentary hot dog lunch. The Lodge was open all day, with food and beverages available for purchase.