4th Of July Fireworks: Where To See Displays In PA

PENNSYLVANIA —It's time to celebrate Independence Day.

Communities throughout the Commonwealth will welcome the Fourth of July with fireworks displays, parades, and other events marking the holiday of the nation's independence Thursday.

Here's where you can say those "Oooohs" and "Aaaahs" as the rockets explode into red, white, and blue (and other colors) to illuminate the night sky.

Fireworks Displays Across Pennsylvania:

• City of Pittsburgh Independence Day Celebration
• 4th of July Fireworks at Sesame Place
• Great American Blast At Coca-Cola Park
• Tredyffrin Township 4th of July Celebration
• City of Bethlehem Independence Day Fireworks Show
• Longwood Gardens 2024 Fireworks & Fountains Show: "Stars and Stripes Forever"
• Philadelphia July 4th Concert and Fireworks
• Independence Day Fireworks Celebration in North Hills
• Upper Darby Township Independence Day Fireworks Show 2024
• Norristown July 4th Party in the Park & Firework Finale
• Cranberry Fireworks & Community Days
• Fourth of July events in Eastern Montgomery County
• 2024 4th Of July Ambler Fireworks Celebration
• Dorney Park Star-Spangled Nights Fireworks Spectacular 2024
• Celebrate A Fonthill Fourth In Doylestown
• Aston Township Fourth of July Celebration 2024 (With Fireworks!)
• Upper Merion 4th of July Celebration
• July 3rd Fireworks Display (Conshohocken, PA)
• July 6th UnWINEd Concert with Fireworks at Shady Brook Farm
• Harrah's Philadelphia Fireworks Night (July 13)

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.