Weather Moves Waltham July 4 Fireworks To Tonight

WALTHAM, MA — Inclement weather forced a one day postponement of Waltham's annual Independence Day festivities.

But fear not, the fireworks display has been moved to today and will be set off from a barge in the Charles River near the Moody Street Bridge. Fireworks will begin at dusk and there are multiple places throughout the city to view them.

The Moody Street Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic and open to pedestrian traffic only starting at 4 p.m.

There are multiple places throughout the city to view them. For a list, click here.

July 4 Festivities For 2024

On July 4, the Waltham Recreation Department is hosting a free Family Celebration at Prospect Hill Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring food vendors, music, inflatables, patriotic crafts and games, amusements and an animal show.

Additional parking will be available at 500 Totten Pond Rd., with trolley service to the event at Prospect Hill Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Nearby, Patriot Place will also host a fireworks display on July 2 starting at 9:15 p.m. Live music will be happening from 5 to 8 p.m. for those who'd like to spend the evening in the area.

For those looking to watch a fireworks display on July 4 itself, Boston will host the Boston Pops concert and fireworks display starting at 8 p.m., with the display starting at 10:30 p.m.

In Worcester, the Worcester Red Sox will host the Syracuse Mets at Polar Park with first pitch set for 6:45 p.m. A July 4 fireworks display is scheduled at the ballpark after the game wraps up.

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.