On July 4, Americans celebrate their country’s Independence Day in various ways, from attending fireworks displays to parading their pets, showing off classic cars or even painting a fence.
The festivities commemorate the July, 4, 1776, adoption of the Declaration of Independence at a meeting of the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. The unanimous decision severed America’s 13 original colonies from British rule after years of unrest that had already boiled over into armed conflict.
July 4 also marks the height of summer fun. Some festivities date back decades. Others take on a regional flavour, capturing the character of a big city or tiny town. Here are a few of the many ways Americans celebrate the United States’ Independence Day.
At the Washington Crossing Historic Park in Pennsylvania, classic car owners pay tribute to the four countries that participated in America’s Revolutionary War (1775–1783) with a display of automotive engineering from the United States, Great Britain, France and Germany. Soldiers from ethnically German parts of Europe fought on both sides of the American Revolution, with 30,000 troops fighting on the side of the British. France came to America’s aid with supplies, troops and naval support.
The Rebels & Redcoats Classic Car Show features cars from model years 1999 and earlier. Proceeds fund historical and educational programs.
Many Fourth of July celebrations feature parades, but the star of the show varies. In the Pacific Northwest city of Bend, Oregon, pets — ranging from dogs to goats — are the attraction. Bend’s Fourth of July pet parade draws between 8,000 and 10,000 people each year. It’s been held annually since 1924 and stopped only during World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cody, Wyoming, holds three parades, plus one for kids, each year. The celebration in the town of 10,000 people, not far from Yellowstone National Park, includes rodeos known as the Cody Stampede. The town’s 2024 festivities run from July 1 through July 4, and include a craft fair, concerts and fireworks, as well as the parades and rodeo bull riding.
The town of Addison, Texas, population 17,000, swells to more than 500,000 as guests arrive for an Independence Day celebration boasting an air show, skydiving and a fireworks display that the American Pyrotechnics Association rates as one of the country’s best.
While nighttime fireworks shows are an Independence Day highlight, some celebrations begin early. Independence, California, marks its namesake holiday with a sunrise flag-raising ceremony, followed by a communal pancake breakfast. Festivities continue with craft and bake fairs, a parade and a soap box derby (a type of race where children assemble and race their own gravity-powered cars).
In Bar Harbor, Maine, the local Fourth of July celebration also begins with a pancake breakfast, followed by craft and food festivals, a parade and live music, before a waterfront fireworks show over Frenchman Bay.
Hannibal, Missouri, the childhood home of 19th-century author Mark Twain, pays tribute to its most famous resident and one of the best-known characters he created. During the National Tom Sawyer Days festival, a 68-year Hannibal tradition, thousands watch as contestants race to paint sections of fence, a task Twain’s protagonist in ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ duped the townsfolk into doing for him.
