Fireworks Near Me: Caldwell July 4th 2024 Events

CALDWELLS, NJ — The 2024 Independence Day holiday is here, and it's time to find out where you can celebrate at a fireworks show in the Caldwell area.

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 the Caldwells and other nearby towns in Essex County.

West Caldwell, Caldwell, North Caldwell, Roseland and Essex Fells will present this year’s West Essex fireworks show on Thursday, July 4 at the James Caldwell High School Baseball Field, 265 Westville Avenue in West Caldwell. Gates will open at 7 p.m. Fireworks will begin at dusk. Learn more here.

Some additional details about the West Essex fireworks show include:

"Attendees may enter on foot from Lane Avenue and Woodmere Road, Park Street and Evergreen Road (near JCHS tennis courts) and Westville Avenue and Evergreen Road (JCHS main entrance). The Westville Avenue entrance will be closed at 9 p.m. There will be NO entry by the Bonnel Field locker room/practice fields and no one will be allowed to watch the fireworks from Bonnel Field or the practice field.There will be handicap parking on Woodmere Road for vehicles with valid handicap permits. Additional parking is available at the Westville Pool Parking Lot."

There are several other nearby fireworks shows open to the public that will take place this year on Thursday, July 4. The list includes:

BLOOMFIELD - Bloomfield will hold its annual Independence Day celebration with an event on Thursday, July 4 – including a public fireworks display. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., with the fireworks scheduled to start at 9:20 p.m. Learn more here.LIVINGSTON – Livingston Township will hold its 87th annual celebration on Thursday, July 4. Events kick off at the Oval at 9 a.m. with the largest Auto Show in NJ, and end with a 9 p.m. fireworks display. Learn more here.

EAST ORANGE – The City of East Orange will hold a firework show on Thursday, July 4 at East Orange Campus Field. Admission begins at 6 p.m., with fireworks scheduled for dusk. Visitors can enter the field via North Clinton or Prospect streets. No smoking or alcohol is allowed. Learn more here.

LIVINGSTON – Livingston Township will hold its 87th annual celebration on Thursday, July 4. Events kick off at the Oval at 9 a.m. with the largest Auto Show in NJ, and end with a 9 p.m. fireworks display. Learn more here.

MILLBURN/SHORT HILLS – Millburn will be holding an Independence Day event on Thursday, July 4. Morning activities begin at 9 a.m., and doors open for fireworks at 7:30 p.m. Learn more here.

NUTLEY - Nutley's annual 4th of July celebration will kick off at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 4 on Franklin Avenue (between Chestnut Street and New Street in front of the Oval). Food and entertainment will be available all night. Fireworks are scheduled to start at dusk, organizers said. Learn more here.

Other towns in Essex County have already held their own local fireworks shows for the holiday, including Cedar Grove and Verona.

INDEPENDENCE DAY: A BRIEF HISTORY

Many U.S. residents 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.

This article contains reporting from the Patch national desk

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