July 4th 2024 Fireworks, Events Around Baldwin, Whitehall

BALDWIN AND WHITEHALL, PA — Independence Day is fast approaching so it's time to find out where you can celebrate around Baldwin and Whitehall.

In nearby Brentwood, July 4 festivities begin at 9 a.m. with the Brentwood Firecracker 5K Race that begins and ends at Brentwood Town Square on Brownsville Road.

The Independence Day Parade begins at 10 a.m. at Brownsville and Sankey roads and proceeds to Brentwood Town Square. The grand marshal will be state Sen. James Brewster of McKeesport.

The fireworks display begins at 9:30 p.m.

On Independence Day, 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.