‘Celebrating Our Independence’ 

Who loves the week long festivities that surround the 4th of July in Philadelphia!

Well, 4th of July is almost here again, and it’s time to not only enjoy ourselves with friends and family, but to celebrate what it’s all about and in the city where it all started.

Mayor Nutter told us what 4th of July means to him and to the City of Philadelphia,

“I think the 4th of July is really about celebrating freedom. It’s about recognizing our independence as a nation. For Philadelphians, it reminds us that our great city is the birthplace of freedom, liberty and democracy in the United States of America. We should all reflect on the deeper meaning of this day and make sure we don’t take our freedoms for granted. Freedom is not free. It must be protected. You have to fight for it. And of course, this City is the best place to celebrate the 4th of July. It’s about fun, but it’s also about freedom.”

The ‘Wawa Welcome America’ celebration has a lot of treats in-store for us. Many events and activities are lined up from June 28 to July 4. We are excited to have back ‘The Roots’, who will be the house band for the “Largest Free Concert in America”. Joining The Roots in other performances will be musicians Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Ed Sherran, Vicci Martinez and others.

What else can you expect? A spectacular fireworks show, concerts, parades, food festivals, free movies, and so much more. We’ll be listing several of the activities below.

The organizers call the “Welcome America!” festival the biggest event in the nation celebrating the Fourth of July, in which more than a million attend each year.

How do you celebrate 4th of July? Did you experience any of the events last year? Will you be attending the main event in Philadelphia on the 4th? Please share with us and Happy Birthday America!

4th of July Events – Week of June 30 – July 4 (quick summary)

• June 30 – “Go 4th & Learn About Science” – Free admission to The Academy of Natural Sciences courtesy of Wawa. From 10 am to 4:30 pm, explore towering dinosaur skeletons, meet live animals and much more. ~ Go 4th & Learn About Science ~

• July 1 – “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” – Enjoy this free movie starting at 9 pm at Rittenhouse Square.

• July 2 – “Go 4th & learn about history” – Free admission to the National Constitution Center  courtesy of Wawa. Starting at 10 am, all day, special programming, live performances and more.

• July 2 – Wawa Hoagie Day  – Starting at noon at Independence Mall, it’s the 22nd annual Wawa Hoagie Day! Wawa will serve a 4.5 ton “hoagie salute” to visitors. Even create cards and letters for our troops. You won’t want to miss a concert by the USO Show Troupe or the hoagie building contest to recognize the USO and our local police and fire personnel.

• July 4 – Celebration of Freedom Ceremony – Taking place at the steps of Independence Hall (10 am – 11 am). For an hour, you get a celebration of music, inspiring remarks and a reading of excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, among other special things.

• July 4 – Philadelphia Independence Day Parade – From 11 am to 12:30 pm, watch more than 5,000 participates as they march through Historic Philadelphia. The parade will include marching bands, floats, military organizations and several special performing teams.

• July 4 – Party on the Parkway, 4th of July Jam & Grande Finale Fireworks – From Noon to 7 pm. There will be many exciting activities, multiple music stages, games and food. Later in the day, the largest free concert in America, will feature many legendary musicians as mentioned above. Lastly, the grand finale of fireworks are slated immediately following the concert on the parkway which will be displayed over the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

2014 Guide – June 28 to July 4 -Fourth of July Festivities & Fireworks

For all events associated with Wawa Welcome America, please go to their events section. – Click Here

Now if doesn’t that get you pumped up and excited about 4th of July in Philadelphia. Everyone should come to the City of Brotherly Love, the birthplace of America’s Freedom, for Independence Day. Thanks to Thomas Jefferson, because without you we all would be eating clotted cream. And a special thanks to Mayor Nutter, Wawa, the City of Philadelphia and it’s volunteers and lastly, the people of Philadelphia.

To keep up with the 4th of July events in Philadelphia on Twitter, please follow #MyPhillyAlive and #July4thPhilly for news and updates about Wawa Welcome America!

Location

Locations will vary during the 7-day event

Days

June 28 – July 4

Cost

Mostly Free

Web Site

• Wawa Welcome America