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Marine parade marching today

If you’re headed to Washington for Independence Day festivities, be aware that the Marine parade schedule has changed.

The Friday Evening Parade for July 4 at Marine Barracks Washington — also known as “8th and I,” home of Commandant Gen. James Conway — will run Thursday instead. The switch was designed to provide a better opportunity for people to experience the parade around other the Independence Day celebrations, barracks officials said.

Marine Barracks Washington hosts a 1-hour, 15-minute ceremony and highlights the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, the U.S. Marine Band, the U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, the Marine Corps Color Guard and the official mascot of the barracks, an English bulldog named Sgt. Chesty XII.

The ceremony is open to the public through general admission lines that begin at 6 p.m. No food or drink is allowed inside the event, but water is provided free of charge.

For directions to the barracks, located at 8th and I streets in southeast Washington, and more information about the parade schedule, visit http://www.mbw.usmc.mil, or call the barracks public affairs office at (202) 433-6683.