NAPLES, Maine — "My wife and I were actually having a baby down the road on the Fourth," Gaylen McKamy, a resident of Naples, said.
This time last year brought a lot of new experiences for McKamy's family, both good and bad.
"It hit crazy close to home," McKamy said.
While McKamy's wife was having a baby, a juvenile was injured in a shooting at the Naples Causeway before the annual fireworks show.
"She's in labor and we're like, 'What's going on in Naples?' It's pretty out of the ordinary," McKamy said.
The same week of this year's celebrations, the man convicted in last year's shooting was sentenced to five years in prison.
That sort of frightening incident would likely inspire fear for this year's celebration, but not in Naples.
"You can't really get ahead of everything all the time, but they're on top of it year-round," McKamy said, speaking of the town's law enforcement.
McKamy said despite the scare, first responders' quick action kept his family feeling safe, a silver lining that is also top of mind for event organizers.
"It also impacted the community in a positive way in a lot of ways because they were able to see how safe we are," Brian Crockett said, who helps put on the town's annual parade.
Crockett said the response was so reassuring that it inspired them.
"Obviously, with everything that happened last year, we saw a lot of heroes," Crockett added.
Ultimately, they decided to dedicate this year's parade to them. The official theme is 'American Heroes.'
"They're just so important," Andrew Madera, one of the parade participants, said.
Madera and his family have spent 50 years building creative new floats to fit the theme of each parade. As a first responder himself, this year was easier than ever.
"We know they're there for us and they have been all along," Madera said.
Like any year, parade volunteers and attendees believe excitement levels haven't waned and neither has the dedication of Naples' first responders.
"I don't think last year's incident plays any role at all in this year's [event]," Lt. Jim Estabrook with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said.
Estabrook said it's business as usual for those working the event and if anything does come up, they'll be ready as always.
"Whether it's the Fourth of July or any other day, fire, EMS, and law enforcement. ... If we get a call we're going to respond to that as quickly as possible," Estabrook added.
By reassuring those involved, officers like Estabrook gave the community the ability to put their focus elsewhere this year.
"We just love to have a number of people here, plus we got a ton of candy we have to get rid of," Crockett said just before the parade began.
Considering who was there in the crowd, it's safe to say they probably didn't have a problem with that.
"I love eating candy and getting squirted by water and seeing fireworks, everything about it," McKamy's daughter told NEWS CENTER Maine in anticipation of the event.