Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Hot dog! Americans enjoy an eventful July 4
NEW YORK — With parade, backyard barbecues and fireworks, Americans celebrated Independence Day by participating in time-honored traditions that express pride in their country’s 242nd birthday.
But this quintessential American holiday was also marked with a sense of a United States divided for some — evidenced by competing televised events in the nation’s capital.
From New York to California, July Fourth festivities were at times lively and lighthearted, with Macy’s July Fourth fireworks over New York City’s East River and Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest at Coney Island.
The day’s events were also stately and traditional, with parades lining streets across the country and the world’s oldest commissioned warship firing a 21-gun salute to mark the 242 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Here are some highlights of Wednesday’s festivities:
The USS Constitution sailed in Boston Harbor and fired its guns again to mark Independence Day.
The world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat left its berth at the Charlestown Navy Yard on Wednesday morning. It glided through the harbor to mark 242 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The ship, nicknamed Old Ironsides, traveled to Fort Independence on Castle Island to fire a 21-gun salute. The ship’s commander saluted the crowds gathered there.
A Navy sailor on board recited the Declaration of Independence during the cruise.
Crowds lined the streets in a Rhode Island town to see what’s billed as the nation’s oldest continuous Fourth of July celebration. Begun in 1785, the Bristol parade typically attracts about 100,000 people to the seaside town.
This year’s was a scorcher: Temperatures hovered near 90 degrees when the parade began late Wednesday morning, and some marchers were treated for heat exhaustion and taken off the route.
The country’s longestrunning live national July Fourth television tradition is PBS’ broadcast of music and fireworks from the U.S. Capitol’s West Lawn. But it faced new counterprogramming this year from the White House, which hosted its own concert and view of the National Park Service’s fireworks show.
Before the White House concert, President Donald Trump praised the U.S. military for keeping America “safe, strong, proud, mighty and free.”
“Two hundred and 42 years ago on July 4, 1776, America’s founders adopted the Declaration of independence and changed the course of human history,” said Trump, addressing hundreds of military families.