It wasn’t a big parade.

There were no marching bands. There were no Shriners scooting around in their little cars. There were no clowns or acrobats or death-defying feats.

The parade that kicked off a day of down-home festivities for Founders Day in Chuckatuck on Saturday was something of a Goldilocks affair: not too big, not too small, just right for the little village at the intersection of Godwin Boulevard and Kings Highway.

A smattering of families congregated in yards lining the parade route as officials readied themselves for the 10 a.m. start. Parents and grandparents laughed and watched children running around in circles, eager for the brief procession of fire and rescue vehicles, Nansemond Indian tribal leaders, antique cars, a color guard, community luminaries riding in convertibles and even a church step team.

“Candy! They’re going to throw us candy!” exclaimed one little spectator, who had a laser-like focus on the most important part of the morning.

And as the parade participants passed, the candy did, indeed, arc from the street to the sidewalks, whence children scurried to snag the loot.

And soon it was over, with the official parade then replaced by an unofficial parade of Chuckatuckians (Chuckatuck-ites? Chuckatuckers?) making their way along the sidewalks to the local fire station, where the day held the promise of games, food, entertainment, vendors and a memorial to a fallen Virginia State Police officer, Chuckatuck native Nathan-Michael W. Smith.

There was music by The Master’s Hand quartet. There were children’s games and crafts. There were fire trucks to climb aboard and turnout gear to try on. Kettle corn, chicken nuggets and more helped fill the bellies of anyone who hadn’t ruined their appetites with candy.

And all around the fire station — within and without — was the low rumble of happy conversation. Friends and neighbors shook hands, hugged and reacquainted themselves with the special feeling of community that can only exist in a place like Chuckatuck, where reverence for historical roots is eclipsed only by the affably open arms that greet newcomers.

They might not have recognized all the family names represented at the 2015 Chuckatuck Founders Day celebration, but the village’s founders would surely have recognized the spirit of the place they established as home.