Independence Day filled with concerts, parades and politics

FILE: New York City’s fireworks display, shown above over the East Village, is sponsored by Macy’s and is the largest in the country. (Photo By David Shankbone – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)

NEW YORK — The national holiday to mark America’s birth as a country will be filled with parades, concerts, competitive eating and of course, fireworks.

But Independence Day won’t be free from politics, as President Donald Trump’s plan for a celebration in Washington featuring a display of tanks, fighter jets and a stealth bomber is garnering support from some and protests from others.

THE BIGGEST SHOW

The Macy’s fireworks show over the East River in New York City is said to be one of the biggest in the country. The fireworks spectacle, plus concert, is broadcast on NBC. Country powerhouses Luke Bryan, Maren Morris and Brad Paisley will perform.

Jennifer Hudson, Ciara, Khalid and Derek Hough are also performing.

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POPPING OFF

On Thursday evening, the Boston Pops Orchestra will perform its annual outdoor concert on the banks of the Charles River in Boston, culminating in a rendition of the “1812 Overture” and a fireworks display. Tens of thousands of revelers are expected to turn out under heavy security for the concert, which also will feature rapper and actress Queen Latifah and folk singer Arlo Guthrie.

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HISTORIC CELEBRATION

The nation’s oldest continuous Fourth of July celebration takes place in Bristol, Rhode Island. The events begin on Flag Day and culminate with a parade on July Fourth that typically draws 100,000 people. Organizers say they’re preparing for the hot weather and a festive celebration of the nation’s independence. The annual celebration began in the seaside town in 1785.

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NEW CITIZENS

Around the country, more than two dozen naturalization ceremonies will be held to welcome in the newest Americans in places like the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia and George Washington’s home in Mount Vernon, Virginia. One hundred and fifty immigrants from 54 countries will be sworn in as new U.S. citizens in a special naturalization ceremony Thursday at Old Sturbridge Village, an outdoor history museum where costumed actors depict 19th-century New England life. More new citizens will take the oath of allegiance aboard the U.S.S. Constitution in Boston.

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FOR THE KIDS AND KIDS AT HEART

At Legoland in Winter Haven, Florida, children can help create a giant United States flag out of LEGO bricks on July 4 as part of the Red, White and Boom celebration. Once the sun goes down, special viewing glasses will allow guests to watch “a gazillion bricks explode from the sky” above Lake Eloise during the theme park’s largest fireworks display of the year.

In Orlando, Walt Disney World is hosting a special show called Celebrate America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky on Thursday night.

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AMERICA’S BIRTHPLACE

In Philadelphia, the celebrations begin with a parade near Independence Hall and culminate with a concert featuring Meghan Trainor and Jennifer Hudson on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The annual fireworks show blasts off after the concert around the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

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EXPLODING ROCKETS

Firefighters in South Carolina had to dodge exploding rockets to douse a spectacular fire that destroyed at least two containers of fireworks stored for sale on the Fourth of July.

The blaze early Thursday provided for an impressive, though sparsely attended show as shells and rockets burst through the metal containers, sending colorful showers into the air above the Davey Jones Fireworks and the House of Fireworks stores in Fort Mill.

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SALUTE FROM THE SHORE

South Carolina celebrates Independence Day in the U.S. by having military planes fly over the state’s beaches.

Jets and a cargo plane take about 40 minutes to fly southwest along the nearly 200 mile (322 kilometre) coastline in what is called the Salute from the Shore.

Beachgoers wear red, white and blue and wave giant American flags as the plans make their 30 minute journey down the coast.

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BIG DOGS

In New York City, how many hot dogs will be the question of the day at the annual Nathan’s Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest on New York’s Coney Island boardwalk.

Eleven-time champion Joey Chestnut ate 74 wieners and buns to win last year’s men’s competition, while Miki Sudo won by eating 37 hot dogs on the women’s side.