KINGSTON — Mother Nature didn’t play hard and fast with the weather this year, as she decided to be kind and give the Little City by the Sea a full day of sun with comfortable temperatures for Independence Day.

Of course, that proved to be a problem for those trying to enjoy frozen treats, such as 3-year-old E.J. Brannan of Edmonds, who was trying to eat a melting pink and blue ice cream cone at the special July 4 Kingston Farmers Market. But he didn’t seem to mind that more of the treat was on his face and hands than was going into his mouth. Neither did his mom Gigi.

The Brannan family was waiting for the Edmonds ferry Monday afternoon but “we needed a place to eat our ice cream,” Gigi Brannan said as they sat in the grass at Mike Wallace Memorial Park. Besides eating ice cream, the best part of the Fourth of July is “fireworks and friends,” she said.

While food was a priority for some that afternoon, others were concerned about seeing how they could get on stage at the park with legendary clown J.P. Patches, who was performing during Kingston’s Fourth of July for the second year in a row.

For Poulsbo resident Meredythe Behal, it was a dream come true. Patches called her up, as well as other North End residents Lydia MacFadden, Bill Breakey and Greg Arneson, to play “Simon Says.”

“I love J.P. Patches!” Behal said. “It was real exciting, I’m still shaking.”

“There would be kids on the show (and) I always wanted to be on the show,” Breakey added about his once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Others tried their hand at a game of chance during the annual Kingston Revitalization Association Ball Race. The fund-raiser for the service group was such a hit last year after selling tickets for nearly 500 balls, organizers decided to step it up a notch this year and hold three individual heats for the ball races, with the top three from each round going into the final heat.

“There were so many balls (last year), it was such a success,” said KRA treasurer Ron Muell. “Pandemonium.”

More people seemed to get into the event this year as a large crowd lined the balls’ route for the final round and encouraged their favorite colored spheres. The winners of each heat got $25 and the grand winner was awarded $100.

But before anyone ate, performed or played, protocol for a Kingston Independence Day celebration was followed as residents lined State Route 104 just before noon and took in the state’s oldest running July 4th parade. The theme this year was “Our Founding Fathers,” which many float entries took to heart, including the llamas led by kids dressed up as colonial icons and the “Kingston Tea Party” float.

Parade judge Sally Christy said her favorite entries included the llamas, The Chicken Band, “Our Founding Feathers,” and the Boy Scout troop that stopped in front of the judges and said the Pledge of Allegiance.

“(But) it’s really hard to judge because they are going so fast,” she said.

The winners of the parade this year are: The Roving Players (best commercial), Llamas For Llove (best horses/livestock), Abate Motorcycles (most patriotic), Kingston Co-op Preschool (best kids’ theme), The Chicken Band (best musical), S’Klallam Tribal Float (best float), Kingston Red Hot Mommas (best vintage autos) and Dr. Beaulieu and Staff/Mary Beth Memorial (best marching).

Parade co-organizer Bev Pierce said it was a success, primarily thanks to the weather.

“The parade went wonderfully well,” she said. “The timing worked out absolutely perfectly with the ferry.”

While she can’t explain why the parade is so popular, it was quite evident that it’s just something that Kingston enjoys — there were at least 65 entries in this year’s parade, she said.

“People just come out of the woodwork,” Pierce said.