Fireworks Near Me: Manatee County July 4th 2024 Events

BRADENTON, FL — Independence Day is fast approaching so it's time to find out where you can celebrate in and around Bradenton. Area events include fireworks, festivals and other Fourth of July fun.

To help you fit it all in on your 4th of July calendar, Patch has put together a guide to what’s going on in Bradenton and the surrounding areas.

July 4 Festivities For 2024

What: Bradenton Marauders Independence Day Celebration 2024

Where: LECOM Park, Bradenton

When: July 3, gates at 5 p.m.

Enjoy a fireworks display following the game. The first 1,500 fans through the gates will get a free t-shirt. Find more event information here.

What: Manatee County July 4 Celebration 2024

Where: Bradenton RiverWalk

When: July 4, 3 to 9:30 p.m.

Nashville recording artist Emmit Stevens will perform from 3 to 6 p.m. and the 22N party band will take the stage from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., followed by fireworks. Find more event information here.

What: Palmetto 4th Fest at Riverside 2024

Where: Riverside Park, Palmetto

When: July 4, 5 to 10 p.m.

The evening includes live music, food trucks, vendors, a beer and beverage garden, and a fireworks display around 9 p.m. Find more event information here.

Today, Americans celebrate the birth of a new nation with fireworks, parades, concerts, and family gatherings and barbecues. Celebrations, though, predate by centuries the designation of Independence Day as a federal holiday, which didn’t happen until 1941.

During the pivotal summer of 1776, the pre-Revolutionary celebrations honoring King George III’s birthday were replaced with mock funerals as a symbolic break from the crown.

It was an exciting time in Philadelphia — the Continental Congress voted to break from the crown and, two days later on July 4, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the original 13 colonies —New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland. Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia — to adopt the Declaration of Independence.

The first annual commemoration of the nation’s independence was in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777, while the Revolutionary War was ongoing. Fireworks have been part of Fourth of July festivities since the first celebration in Philadelphia.