July 4th 2025 Fireworks, Events Around Edison, Metuchen

EDISON, 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 Edison and Metcuhen.

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 Edison and Metuchen and the surrounding areas.

July 4 Festivities For 2025:

What: Edison's 4th Of July Fireworks Celebration
Where: Papaianni Park
When: July 4
Edison Township will hold its annual 4th of July Celebration and Fireworks on Friday, July 4th, 2025 at Papaianni Park

What: South Brunswick Independence Day Celebration
Where: Crossroads South Middle School
When: July 2 (rescheduled), 6 p.m. onwards
The South Brunswick Independence Day Celebration will be held on July 1, 2025, at 6 p.m. at Crossroads South Middle School. There will be music, food, and lots of fun activities. Fireworks begin around 9 p.m. Rain Date is July 2.

What: East Brunswick July 4th Celebration
Where: East Brunswick Community Arts Center, 721 Cranbury Road
When: July 4, 6 p.m. onwards
Festivities take place at the East Brunswick Community Arts Center beginning at 6 p.m. on July 4. Food trucks will be on site along with children’s entertainers, merchants, and a performance by the East Brunswick Symphony Orchestra. The celebration will end with a fireworks display.

What: Helmetta Spark In The Park
Where: Helmetta Lake Park
When: July 3, 6 p.m. onwards
There will be music, food, children's entertainment and fireworks at dusk. Rain date is July 6.

What: Milltown 4th of July
Where: Milltown, NJ
When: July 4
Milltown will once again be home to the fishing derby, 5k race, awesome parade, duck race, pizza eating contest, patriotic house contest, bike contest, and music. Fireworks begin at 9:30 p.m. This will be the 100th anniversary of Milltown celebrating Independence Day.

What: Sayreville's Independence Day Celebration
Where: Kennedy Park
When: June 28, 4 p.m. onwards
Sayreville's annual Independence Day Celebration is on Saturday, June 28 at Kennedy Park. There will be live music from Frontiers: The World's Number One Tribute To Journey, a wide selection of food trucks, numerous free inflatables and attractions for all ages, and free face painting. Fireworks begin at 9:15 p.m.

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.