Fireworks Near Me: Canton July 4th 2024 Events

CANTON, CT — Independence Day is fast approaching so it's time to find out where you can celebrate in and around Canton.

Area events include fireworks, festivals, and other Fourth of July fun.

To help you fit it all in on your 4th of July calendar, Patch has put together a guide to what’s going on in Canton and the surrounding areas.

July 4 Festivities For 2024:

Thursday, July 4

What: New Britain Fireworks: "The Great American Boom"

When: scheduled for Thursday, July 4th, festival at 5 p.m.; fireworks at 9 p.m.

Where: Willow Brook Park, New Britain, 200 Mill S.

For more information, click on this link.

Saturday, July 6

What: Fireworks at Hartford Bonanza

When: Saturday, July 6, from 4 to 10 p.m. (fireworks at end of night)

Where: Downtown Hartford's Bushnell Park at Elm, Jewell and Trinity streets.

For more information, click on this link.

Saturday, July 20

What: Newington’s Life, Be In It, Extravaganza

When: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fireworks begin at 9:30 p.m.

Where: Mill Pond Park, Newington, 123 Garfield St.

For more information, click on this link.

Fourth of July history

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.