July 4th 2025 Fireworks, Events Around Bridgewater

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — 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 Bridgewater.

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 Bridgewater and the surrounding areas.

July 4 Festivities For 2025

Montgomery

• What: Montgomery Township's 4th of July Fireworks
• Where: Front lawn of Montgomery High School (1016 Rt 601)
• When: Thursday, June 26, from 6 to 9 p.m.
• Festivities begin at 6 p.m. with vendors, music, and games/activities for children. Leave all pets at home. Alcohol is prohibited on school grounds. Priority parking passes will be available for purchase in-person only at Otto Kaufman Community Center this year for $20. There will be free parking available off-site, but if you would like parking in the high school front parking lot, please purchase priority parking. (Handicapped parking will be available.)

Hillsborough

• What: Hillsborough Family Fun Day, Fireworks 2025
• Where: Auten Road Intermediate School field at 281 Auten Road, Hillsborough
• When: Saturday, June 28 at 5 p.m.
• The Independence Day Celebration will feature inflatable amusements for children, a food tent, carnival games, and promotional information from local organizations.
  The food tent will feature a variety of refreshments, including pizza, chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, kettle corn, and more. Live music will be provided by "Gypsy, A True Stevie Nicks Experience," leading up to the main event, the annual fireworks extravaganza. Bring your folding chairs and blankets, and plan on spending a fun evening with the Hillsborough community. The festivities begin at 5 p.m. at the Auten Road Intermediate School field at 281 Auten Road. Complimentary shuttle buses will be available from the Hillsborough High School parking lot beginning at 5 p.m. There is no public parking at the event. The rain date is Sunday, June 29.

Bridgewater/Somerset County

• What: July 4th Somerset County Independence Day Fireworks 2025
• Where: North Branch Park on Milltown Road in Bridgewater
• When: Friday, July 4 from 6 to 10 p.m.
• Admission is free. North Branch Park gates will open at 6 p.m. to allow vehicles to enter the park and families to picnic on park grounds. The fireworks display will begin at 9:30 p.m. Visitors should plan to arrive early. Milltown Road will be closed at around 9 p.m. Heavy car and foot traffic is expected. Yacht Rock Gold Experience will perform memorable hits of the decades from the 70s up to the latest chart toppers at 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. The NJ 3rd Regiment Revolutionary War encampment will be on-site. Park visitors should bring lawn chairs or blankets while they enjoy time in the park before the Independence Day fireworks begin. Food trucks will be available and picnic baskets are allowed, but alcohol is prohibited. Personal fireworks are not allowed. Milltown Road will remain closed at the conclusion of the fireworks for 30 minutes to one hour while local neighborhood pedestrians walk from the park. Bridgewater Police will be on hand to assist park staff with traffic flow.

Watchung

• What: Watchung's Patriot Walk around Watchung Lake
• Where: Watchung Lake, 92 Stirling Road, Watchung
• When: Friday, July 4 at 11 a.m.
• A family-friendly Independence Day tradition organized by the Recreation Commission

Somerset Patriots (Bridgewater)

• What: Somerset Patriots Postgame Independence Day Fireworks Show
• Where: TD Bank Ballpark, 1 Patriots Park, Bridgewater
• When: Friday, July 4 at 7:05 p.m.
• Somerset Patriots versus Reading Fightin Phils

North Plainfield

• What: North Plainfield for Community Day & Fireworks
• Where: North Plainfield High School, 34 Wilson Ave., North Plainfield
• When: Saturday, July 5, from 4 to 10 p.m.
• Rain date Sunday, July 6

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.