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U.S. NEWS A3
Tuesday 5 July 2016
Party in the USA: America Celebrates Nation’s Independence
Continued from front year for a barbecue, con- NATION’S OLDEST ONGO-
cert and view of the fire- ING JULY FOURTH PARTY
Just hours before the mas- works on the National Mall. A seaside town in Rhode Is-
sive fireworks display in the For a second straight year, land hosted what’s known
nation’s capital Monday, rainy weather forced the as the nation’s oldest con-
only a handful of people cancellation of the an- tinuous Fourth of July cel-
were picnicking in tents or nual Fourth of July picnic ebration, with 19 marching
under makeshift shelters. and fireworks watch at the bands and 17 floats mak-
Others headed for the mu- White House. Lamar and ing their way through the
seum. Monae performed indoors, streets of Bristol on Mon-
But as vendors hawked in the East Room. day.
ponchos and umbrellas, About 100,000 people turn
some of the faithful fire- NEW YORK: FRANKS AND out for the parade in a typi-
works fans said they would cal year, according to city
brave the elements no FIREWORKS officials. An Independence
matter how rainy it got. Day celebration has tak-
“We’re not going any- American as apple pie? en place in Bristol since
where,†vowed Heather 1785, and the event has
Wright, of Columbus, Ohio, Fuhgeddaboudit. The become entwined with
as she camped under a the town’s identity, WPRI-
tent with her husband, their frankfurter rules the Fourth TV reported. A red, white
9-year-old son and their and blue center stripe runs
10-year-old nephew. in New York City, where the down the town’s main
street, and real estate list-
IN THE NATION’S BIRTH- annual Nathan’s Famous The reading of the Declaration of Independence at Ringwood ings for houses often note
PLACE, A PARADE AND A Manor as the militia fires off their muskets to celebrate their if they are on or near the
PARKWAY PARTY hot dog eating contest independence in Ringwood, N.J., Monday, July 4, 2016. parade route.q
In Philadelphia — where
the Founding Fathers ap- marks its centennial this (Chris Pedota/The Record of Bergen County via AP)
proved the Declaration of
Independence on July 4, year — well, not really. Na-
1776 — the national birth-
day party runs all day. than’s itself dates to 1916, at the Los Angeles Memori- places around the massive
It kicked off at 10 a.m. with al Coliseum, the Hollywood metro area. San Francisco
a reading of the document but showmen behind the Bowl, Grand Park near City held a large fireworks dis-
and an event honoring Hall and the Rose Bowl in play over the San Francis-
everyday heroes, with ce- hot dog competition have Pasadena, among other co Bay.
lebrity guest Leslie Odom
Jr., a Philadelphia native acknowledged they made
who plays Aaron Burr in the
Broadway musical “Hamil- up a long-told story about
ton.†Then came the holi-
day parade, which includ- the contest beginning that
ed Miss America 2016 Betty
Cantrell. year, too. It actually start-
Next up was a five-hour
party with free entertain- ed in the 1970s.
ment on the Benjamin
Franklin Parkway. The cel- Later Monday, Macy’s de-
ebration continued with a
five-hour concert with per- livered its biggest Fourth of
formers including Odom
and singer-songwriter Leon July fireworks display since
Bridges. Fireworks closed
out the day. the millennium show of
A FINAL WHITE HOUSE 2000. The show featured
FOURTH FOR THE PRESIDENT
It was the last Fourth of more than 56,000 pyro-
July at the White House for
President Barack Obama technic shells, 22 hues and
and his family, and they
had a few friends over: mili- the New York debut of
tary families and two of the
president’s favorite per- “pyro-writing†in the sky,
formers, singer-songwriter
Janelle Monae and rapper all synchronized to patri-
Kendrick Lamar.
The Democratic president otic tunes performed by
and his wife, Michelle, in-
vite military families each the United States Air Force
Band. Country singer Ken-
ny Chesney, pop band 5
Seconds of Summer and
pop singer Meghan Trainor
were among the perform-
ers.
BOSTON’S BLOWOUT
Hundreds of thousands of
people lined the banks of
Boston’s Charles River to
watch the fireworks there,
with millions more across
the country watching live
on CBS.
The celebration featured
pop stars Nick Jonas
and Demi Lovato, coun-
try group Little Big Town
and, as always, the Bos-
ton Pops Orchestra, which
drove home the climactic
fireworks finale to Tchai-
kovsky’s “1812 Overture.â€
JULY FOURTH, CALIFORNIA-
STYLE
There was a ‘something-
for-everyone’ approach
to fireworks in Los Angeles,
where displays were held
