The American Visionary Arts Museum will celebrate the Fourth of July with its annual pet parade and talent show Friday.

(If you missed last year's, you can click here for some video.)

Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. for the talent show, which, in years past, has featured such memorable pets (and talents) as hermit crabs re-enacting Revolutionary War battles, singing dogs, dancing dogs and corn on the cob eating dogs.

The parade comes first -- a lap around AVAM's campus, which will be equipped with doggie pools for your pooch to cool off. Trophies will be awarded for Best Costume, Most Patriotic, Owner & Pet Look-alikes, Least Likely to Succeed as a Pet, and more – including the Most Visionary Pet Award.

Pets of all kinds are welcome, in costumes of all kinds, but must be leashed or carried, and owners are responsible for behavior and bodily functions -- both their pets and their own.

If you can't wait until July 4 to start partying with your dog, bring him or her along to the museum's outdoor movie night in Federal Hill Park, which Thursday will feature Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

The free movies are shown every Thursday night on a 30-foot screen on one of the museum's exterior walls, under the museum's Giant Golden Hand. they start at 9 p.m. The museum remains open until 9 p.m. on movie nights. In the event of rain, movies are shown in the Jim Rouse Visionary Center.