The Orange Order will be putting on Twelfth of July parades in cities and towns across Northern Ireland this coming Tuesday to mark King William's victory over King James at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
Family is an important theme of the Twelfth for many people, none more so than the McCusker clan from Co Armagh.
Former Ulster Unionist councillor Colin McCusker will be on parade alongside his son teenage Sam, marching under their lodge's banner, Boconnell LOL 123, which is part of Lurgan District.
Read more: Twelfth of July: Full list of parades taking place across Northern Ireland
One of Colin's brothers will also be flying in from Southampton for the occasion while another brother will be assisting with transporting the Lambeg drums on the day.
Like his father and grandfather before him, the late UUP MP Harold McCusker, Sam, 14, is now an active and enthusiastic playing family member of this celebrated Lambeg-druming lodge.
After two years of alternative celebrations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 18 venues will be playing host to processions to mark the 332nd anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.
The traditional sight and sound of Lambeg drums will add to the festivities in Armagh, which will be featuring in the live television being broadcast by GB News.
The Co Armagh Twelfth Demonstration is now very firmly established as the largest Orange gathering in the world on the day and encompasses the full range of the Orange family.
Eleven District Lodges will be on parade in Armagh, with a total of 150 Private Lodges and almost 5,000 brethren taking part. This parade can attract upwards of 20,000 spectators, including some from across the border.
Approximately 65 bands will accompany the Lodges and some of the finest pipe, accordion, silver and flute bands in the country will be on parade.
The Co Armagh Twelfth rotates around the District Lodges in an eleven-year cycle and this year it is the turn of Armagh District LOL No. 5 to host the celebrations.
This was to have been the venue in 2020 and indeed 2021, but due to the pandemic, only limited parades by local bands were held in 2020 and local District Lodges in 2021.
Colin has never missed a Co Armagh demonstration, from the years he was taken as a baby, to carrying banner strings and then joining as a teenager.
"Last year because of the pandemic we had a parade in the afternoon with around 20 lodges in Lurgan followed by a picnic in the park," he told Belfast Live.
"It was a later start than the normal early morning one because we didn't have all the travelling and in 2020 it was Twelfth at Home.
"It is nice to get back to some sort of normality this year and enjoy the day as usual. This will be Sam's first year drumming alongside me and we will be walking together in the Armagh parade.
"The Twelfth is still very much an important annual event in our family. After all the drumming and walking, we'll be going back home for a family barbeque.
"My wife Anne-Louise and daughter Jane will always come and watch the parade and have a picnic ready for us when we reach the field," Colin added.
For Sam, the decision to carry on the family tradition was a decision entirely of his own.
"I deliberately didn't push Sam into it. I asked him if he wanted to go to the Northern Ireland centenary drumming event at Stormont last September and he said he did," Colin explained.
"We both attended that and then he said he'd like to learn to play properly and take part in a parade. Thankfully lessons were being held so he got the bug and wants to be able to drum with us.
"I wanted to make sure it was his decision and not just to please me but if he hadn't wanted to do it, that wouldn't have annoyed me.
"It's nice that it was something he wanted to do himself in terms of keeping on the tradition for years to come."
However, there is always a tinge of sadness on the Twelfth morning due to Colin's father, who died in 1990, not being there.
"My father joined the lodge in 1971, the year I was born," Colin said. "I'm sure he'll be mentioned fondly a few times by others on the day but as the years go one you move on to the next generation."
The other 17 demonstrations on Tuesday, 12th July will be held at: Glenarm, Ballymena, Bushmills, Antrim, Cullybackey, Magheragall, Belfast, Ballygowan, Greyabbey, Newry, Ballymartin, Enniskillen, Limavady, Tobermore, Castlecaulfield, Omagh and Aughnacloy.
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