You are here: Home / Things to Do in Philadelphia / Fireworks / Guide to Fourth of July Festivities & Fireworks in Philadelphia

Guide to Fourth of July Festivities & Fireworks in Philadelphia

June 30, 2014 By

4th of July in Philadelphia

‘Cheat Sheet to 4th of July Events in Philly for 2014’

Fourth of July is approaching quickly and it has always been a great time to spend with family, friends, and loved ones in the past. This year won’t be any different!

4th of July is a day when we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence which took place on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. The City of Philadelphia is where it all began, to where the Declaration of Independence was adopted at Independence Hall, and is the birthplace of this wonderful country.

Many celebrate 4th of July with barbecues, fireworks, parades, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies. With the help of the City of Philadelphia and Wawa Welcome America, you will be in for a major treat with this years activities and events.

4th of July Events & Activities in Philly – Week of June 28 – July 4

  • June 30 – Disney’s movie, “Frozen” – Held at Franklin Square starting at 9 pm. Enjoy the movie, mini-golf, free giveaways and more.
  • July 1 – “Go 4th & Learn with Fitness” – From 10:00 am – noon at the Smith Memorial Playground in East Fairmount Park, break a sweat at the 6.5 acre playground. Play on the Ann Newman Giant Wooden Slide and more than 50 unique, age-appropriate and accessible pieces of play equipment. The first 200 kids will receive a book.
  • 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 2 – Free Movie – Rocky – Starting at 9 pm at the Philadelphia Museum of Art at 26th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway. What would 4th of July be without seeing one of our own run up the Museum of Art’s steps!
  • July 3 – FREE concert – UPDATE – Due to weather concerns, tonight’s POPS! Concert will be moved indoors to Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center. Doors open at 7:30PM show starts at 8PM. Starting at 8 pm, come listen to Peter Nero and the Philly Pops at the steps of Independence Hall, 6th & Chestnut Streets! Bring your lawn chairs.
  • 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.
  • July 4 – 6 – The Super Scooper All-You-Can-Eat Ice Cream Festival – This 3-day event allows to lick up all the ice cream you can for a $7 donation from many ice cream vendors. This event helps the Joshua Kahan Fund, which works to fight pediatric leukemia. ~ All-You-Can-Eat Ice Cream Festival ~

 

Guide to Fireworks in Philadelphia July 4 – 5

  • July 4 – Fireworks display over the Philadelphia Museum of Art sometime around 10 pm.
  • July 4 – Fireworks at Longwood Gardens. – For info, Click Here.
  • July 5 – The United States Army Band & Adventure Aquarium Waterfront – At 8 pm, The United States Army Band performs a free, patriotic performance at Penn’s Landing. The concert will be followed by a spectacular fireworks display courtesy of Adventure Aquarium. For more info, Click Here.

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

We want to leave you with this quote from Mayor Nutter, telling 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.”

Celebrating Our Freedom!  We at MyPhillyAlive wish you all a fantastic 4th of July and enjoying the many activities and festivals leading up to our Nations birthday. Happy 4th of July!

If you missed our previous article regarding 4th of July in Philly and about Wawa America, please check this article out.

4th of July in Philadelphia & Philly Events

To keep up with the 4th of July events in Philadelphia on Twitter, please follow #July4thPhilly for news and updates about Wawa Welcome America! You can also follow MyPhillyAlive’s updates on Twitter at @MyPhillyAlive.

FYI: Street Closures in the Area

Thursday, July 3
In the historic district, Chestnut Street, between 5th and 6th streets, will be closed to vehicular traffic, from 9:30 a.m. to Friday, July 4th at 5 p.m.

The Parkway will be open to vehicular traffic during morning and evening rush hours, but closed in between for construction related to the concert.

The entire Parkway will be closed following evening rush hour for activities connected to concert construction.

Friday, July 4 
For the Party on the Parkway, along Benjamin Franklin Parkway and “Philly 4th of July Jam,” Closures are in effect around the Parkway, from Arch Street to Pennsylvania Avenue and 18th to 25th streets, from 5 a.m. to around 5 a.m. on Saturday (weather-permitting).

In the historic district, in preparation for the Celebration of Freedom Ceremony and Independence Day Parade near Independence Hall, closed are: 5th and 6th streets, from Market to Walnut, beginning at 5 a.m.; Chestnut Street, between Front and 5th streets, starting at 7 a.m.

From 10:50 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the following roads are closed: Chestnut and Ranstead streets, from 6th to 9th Street; 9th from Chestnut to Market; East Market, from 9th Street to Front Street; 8th Street, from Arch to Walnut; from 7th Street, from Walnut to Arch; 6th Street, from Arch to Chestnut streets; 5th St. from Arch to Market streets; Front Street, from Arch to Dock streets; 4th Street, from Arch to Walnut; 3rd Street, from Walnut to Arch; 2nd Street, from Walnut to Arch; Strawberry Street, from Market to Chestnut streets; Bank Street, from Market to Chestnut.

All streets affected by the closures are scheduled to be reopened in the historic district by 5 p.m. on July 4th and in the Parkway vicinity by 6 a.m. on July 5th.

Location

Locations will vary during the 7-day event

Dates

June 28 – July 4

Cost

Mostly Free, depending on the event

Web Site

4th of July in Philadelphia

picture – Credit G. Widman for GPTMC

Filed Under: Fireworks, Fireworks, Holiday Events, Live Music Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,