Fireworks Near Me: Highland Park July 4th 2025 Events

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Independence Day falls on a Friday in 2025, kicking off a star-spangled three-day weekend packed with fireworks, festivals and other Fourth of July fun in and around Highland Park.

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 Highland Park and the surrounding areas.

July 4 Festivities In Lake County For 2025

Barrington

• Fourth of July Fireworks In Barrington 2025, Barrington High School, 616 W. Main St.

Deerfield

• Deerfield 4th of July Fireworks, Shepard Park

Fox Lake

• Celebrate Fox Lake 2025 Fireworks On June 28, Lakefront Park, 10 Riverview Ave.

Grayslake

• Taste Of Grayslake Family Picnic & Fireworks 2025, Central Park, 250 Library Lane

Gurnee

• July 3-5 Six Flags Great America Fireworks Fourth of July 2025

Lake Forest

• 18th Annual Lake Forest Festival and Fireworks, 400 Hastings Road

Libertyville

• Fourth of July 2025 Fireworks At Butler Lake Park In Libertyville

Linconshire

• Fireworks At Red, White & BOOM Festival In Lincolnshire On July 3, 2025, 1025 Riverwoods Road

Mundelein

• Mundelein Community Days Fourth of July Fireworks On July 4, 2025, Courtland Commons Park, 400 E. Courtland St.

Round Lake Beach

• Beach Fest 2025 Fireworks Display On July 5, 2025, Village of Round Lake Beach Cultural and Civic Center, 2007 N. Civic Center Way

Vernon Hills

• Fourth of July Fireworks on July 4, 2025, At Century Park In Vernon Hills

Waukegan

• Rock in the USA Festival and Fireworks In Waukegan On July 4, 2025, 175 Harbor Place

Patch has rounded up the biggest July 4 fireworks displays and other events happening in Illinois in celebration of Independence Day. Click here to see our full Illinois list.

Independence Day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. In that document, the 13 original colonies declared their independence from Great Britain.

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.

Today, Americans celebrate 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.