Nothing has a greater impact on the Bristol Fourth of July parade than the weather. Scorching heat, lightning storms, high winds — any adverse weather can define Bristol’s big day. But it cannot stop it.

Despite a heavy drenching of rain that lasted more than an hour, before and at the start of Tuesday’s parade, the show went on. Many marchers were dripping wet. Many spectators were beyond soaked. Yet most stuck it out, dealt with the consequences, and had a great time.

None faced greater challenges than the volunteers who plan and organize the parade. Standing outside for hours, juggling the many needs of the thousands of marchers, reacting to surprise cancellations and reading from marching orders that were literally washed away, they nonetheless got the parade started on time, in some semblance of its intended sequence, and gave the tens of thousands of people watching along Hope and High streets a day to remember.

The Fourth of July Committee deserves the highest praise for making it all happen — raising the money, managing the logistics, and staging an event that they experience mostly from behind the scenes. They deserve congratulations for another job well done.

And keep the applause rolling for …

• The public safety teams, including police officers, firefighters and EMTs, who work long hours both before and during the parade to create the safest event possible;

• The crews directing traffic everywhere in town, helping people get in and get out with ease;

• The public works crews, also working long hours, setting up, taking down, and cleaning away everything in the blink of an eye.

You cannot preserve the oldest, continuous Fourth of July celebration in the United States of America without a team of people working together.

Hopefully they all enjoy a day or two of relaxation, as well as an entire community’s appreciation for putting on a great show yet again.