July 4th 2024 Fireworks, Events Around Portland

PORTLAND, OR — Independence Day is fast approaching so it's time to find out where you can celebrate in and around Portland. 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 Portland and the surrounding areas.

July 4 Festivities For 2024

What: 2024 Waterfront Blues Festival: Portland
Where: Portland
When: Thursday, July 4 to Sunday, July 7, fireworks at 10 p.m. on July 4

What: 4th of July Spectacular 2024 at Oaks Amusement Park: Portland
Where: Portland
When: Thursday, July 4- 11 a.m. to midnight, Fireworks at approximately 9:45 p.m.

What: 4th of July 2024 Portland Pickles Doubleheader Extravaganza: Portland
Where: Portland
When: Thursday, July 4- 3 p.m. and 7:05 p.m.

What: Hillsboro Hops Baseball Game and 2024 Independence Day Celebration
Where: Hillsboro
When: Wednesday, July 3 - 7:05 game vs. Eugene Emeralds, fireworks to follow the game

What: 4th of July at Oak Hills 2024: Beaverton
Where: Beaverton
When: Thursday, July 4 - 11 a.m. to midnight, Fireworks at 10 p.m.

What: 4th of July Celebration and Concert 2024 at Veterans Memorial Park: Beaverton
Where: Beaverton
When: Thursday, July 4 - 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

What: 2024 Hillsboro Rotary 4th of July Parade
Where: Hillsboro
When: Thursday, July 4 - starts at 10 a.m.

What: 4th of July Celebration 2024, First-Ever Drone Show: Tigard
Where: Tigard
When: Thursday, July 4 - 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

What: 2024 Star Spangled Parade & July 4 Celebration: Lake Oswego
Where: Lake Oswego
When: Thursday, July 4 - 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

What: 4th of July Concert & Laser Light Show 2024: Wilsonville
Where: Wilsonville
When: Thursday, July 4 - 8 p.m., Laser Show at approximately 9:45 p.m.

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.