4th of July 2020 Fireworks Near Me in Boston

Getty Fireworks display at the Boston Pops On Nantucket Hosted By Real Simple and Coastal Living at Jetties Beach on August 9, 2014 in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Fourth of July celebrations are going to look a little different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so, unfortunately, most in-person fireworks celebrations are canceled. But many of them have gone virtual, so here’s how you can still enjoy Independence Day in the Boston area for the Fourth of July 2020.

Military Flyover and Virtual Boston Pops Concert

For an actual in-person experience, there will be a military flyover as part of the Washington D.C. Salute to America celebration. The flyover will be highlighting cities that played a part in the American Revolution.

“The highlight of this year’s celebration will be our salute to the Great Cities of the American Revolution,” the Department of Defense said in a statement. “The flyovers will begin in Boston and proceed to New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. From there they will join other Department of Defense and heritage aircraft in the Salute to America over our nation’s capital. In all, roughly 1,700 service members will support the celebrations. The exact timing of the flyovers is still being worked and will be announced soon.”

There will also be a military flyover at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

Then at night, Boston citizens can celebrate virtually with the annual Boston Pops concert. According to the Boston Pops website, a Boston Pops Salute to Our Heroes will air for three hours on Bloomberg TV, Bloomberg.com, and Boston’s WHDH7.
It will feature previous musical performances from recent years that include Andy Grammer, Leslie Odom Jr., Rhiannon Giddens, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Arlo Guthrie, and more, plus Amanda Gorman and Rita Moreno will provide narration and poetry readings accompanied by the Boston Pops. There will also be performances by the Boston Symphony and Middlesex Country Volunteer Fifes and Drums.

Additionally, many friends of the Boston Pops will share special video messages about what Independence Day means to them. The festivities start at 8 p.m. ET/PT on July 4.

The Fourth of July’s Origins

The Fourth of July — or Independence Day — is celebrated each year to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776. Congress voted to declare independence from British rule on July 2 but the declaration was not signed until two days later.

Independence Day is a federal holiday and has come to be celebrated with various outdoor activities, like picnics, barbecues, town festivals, fireworks displays, parades, and more.

Macy’s fireworks in New York City is the largest display in the country, but hundreds of other fireworks displays are lighting up the sky all over the country.

There is also the annual tradition of the free PBS concert called A Capitol Fourth, which boasts live performances by some of music’s hottest stars and also appearances or performances by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, the United States Army Presidential Salute Guns Battery, the U.S. Army Band, the National Symphony Orchestra and the Choral Arts Society of Washington.

This year’s Fourth of July celebrations have largely gone virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic but hopefully, things will be back to normal in 2021.

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