July 4th 2024 Fireworks, Events Around McCandless

McCANDLESS, PA — Independence Day is fast approaching so it's time to find out where you can celebrate around McCandless.

In nearby Ross, the Independence Day Parade will occur on June 30 from 2 p.m.-3 p.m. from St. John's Church to Brandt Funeral Home.

The fireworks celebration will occur July 4 from 5 p.m.-10 p.m. at the Ross Township Municipal Center on Municipal Drive. The festivities will include food trucks, a petting zoo, live music and more.

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.