What better place to be on the Fourth of July than New York City? New York hosts one of the largest and most extravagant Independence Day celebrations of any place in the United States, and the celebration starts well in advance of the Fourth itself.
Festivities start on June 30 at 10:00 a.m. in Brooklyn with New York City’s oldest Fourth of July parade: the 102nd Annual Brooklyn Independence Day Parade. (http://brooklyn.com/) The parade is sponsored by the Long Island Assembly of the Knights of Columbus, and includes the Italian Giglio Band, pipe and drum players, a ceremonial flag presentation, and a salute to the parade’s Grand Master. The parade starts at 76th Street and Third Avenue in Brooklyn.
Continue the celebration that evening with the New York Philharmonic. At 8:00 p.m. on July 2 and at 5:00 p.m. on July 3, listen to the New York Philharmonic perform Bernstein’s “On the Waterfront Suite,” Gershwin’s “Promenade,” Leroy Anderson’s “Bugler’s Holiday” and “Fiddle-Faddle,” Copland’s “Quiet City,” and “New York, New York.” The performance is located at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center Plaza, Columbus Avenue and 65th Street. Tickets may be purchased in advance at www.newyorkphilharmonic.org.
On the Fourth itself, start the day at the famed Great July 4th Festival, located at Water Street between State and Fulton streets. The street fair features 600 international food vendors, in addition to vendors of arts, crafts and other merchandise, and runs from 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Don’t forget to stop by the historic ships docked at Hudson River Park’s Pier 63 between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the Fourth. In addition to the ships, there will be music, dancing, food, face painting, and art contests.
One of New York’s most well-known and beloved Fourth of July traditions is, of course, Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. Twenty contests will attempt to best the current record of 53.75 hotdogs in 12 minutes. http://www.nathansfamous.com/nathans/contest/) The contest starts at noon, but arrive early if you want a good seat. Last year, over 30,000 spectators showed up to watch, according to Nathan’s. The contest is located at Nathan’s Famous 1310 Surf Avenue, Coney Island.
Finally, the culmination of the Independence Day celebrations is the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular. This year is the 30th anniversary of the Macy’s fireworks display, and the theme is “It’s All About U.S.” The fireworks display, which is the largest in the world, is set to include 20,000 aerial shells, producing more than 120,000 explosions. In addition to the fireworks, there will be live music from the New York Pops and performances Anika Noni Rose, Lea Salonga and John Lloyd Young. Festivities start at 7:00 p.m., with the fireworks scheduled to launch at approximately 9:20 p.m. The fireworks will be launched over the East River from barges located between 23rd and 42nd Streets, at the Statute of Liberty, and near the South Street Seaport. From Manhattan, the fireworks can be viewed from the East River Park, South Street Seaport, FDR Drive (enter at 23rd 38th and 42nd Streets).
