July 4th 2024 Fireworks, Events Around Fredericksburg

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — Independence Day is fast approaching so it's time to find out where you can celebrate in and around Fredericksburg. 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 Fredericksburg and the surrounding areas.

July 4 Festivities For 2024

What: Family Fun & Stories
Where: Rising Sun Tavern Museum, 1304 Caroline St., Fredericksburg
When: July 4, 12-3 p.m.
Bring the family for live readings of children’s stories and fun crafts themed around American history and the 4th of July.

What: Patriotic Palooza
Where: Virginia Credit Union Stadium, 42 Jackie Robinson Way in Fredericksburg
When: July 4, 4-8 p.m.
Activities: DJ, bounce houses, face painting and lawn games. Night at the Museum movie screening at 5:30 p.m. Fireworks at 9 p.m.

What: Fallen Heroes 5 Miler Race
Where: 706 Caroline St. in Fredericksburg
When: July 4, 7:30 a.m.
This run is a scenic 5 Mile USATF Certified Course which runs along the Rappahannock River and the beautiful areas of the City of Fredericksburg.

DC Events

Many people will be heading to Washington, D.C. for the big 4th of July Celebration on the National Mall. The National Park Service has posted a schedule of events, maps and other information online to make sure you're in the best spot to watch the fireworks display when it starts at 9:09 p.m.

If you head to D.C. earlier in the day, you can catch the National Independence Day Parade, which kicks of at 11:25 a.m. at 7th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W.

A Capitol Fourth, then annual concert broadcast by PBS, will start at 8 p.m. and provide a great place to watch the fireworks burst above the National Mall. This is a popular event, so get there early. Gates open at the U.S. Capitol grounds at 3 p.m.

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.