Mother Nature is raining on our parades.

With weather forecasts calling for thunderstorms and heavy rain on Thursday, Independence Day, Covington and Porterdale have rescheduled their holiday festivities for Saturday, July 6, while Oxford has canceled its annual Fourth of July parade.

As of Tuesday evening, a 100 percent chance of thunderstorms and heavy rain was forecast for Thursday, with a 70 percent chance that evening.

In Covington
Covington’s Independence in the Park will be from 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday on the square. Bands and local groups will be performing throughout the day, with special guest Bo Bice, the runner-up on the 2005 season of “American Idol,’’ performing that evening, followed by fireworks.

There will be face-painting, inflatables, vendors and food available.

This year’s sponsors include McKibben Music, Main Street Covington, the City of Covington, and Ginn Motors.

Porterdale
Porterdale’s Fourth of July parade will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday. No pre-registration is required, but participants are asked to show up several minutes before and to dress in red, white and blue.

Line-up will take place at Porterdale Baptist Church. After the parade, local band TNG will be playing from 5 to 9 p.m., and a cage-wrestling match will take place between 5 and 8 p.m.