Commons Get Up & Go! Fireworks Delights

Go 4th and enjoy – rain or shine!

Pop! Bang! Each year on Independence Day, firework makers sell 25 million pounds of pyrotechnics to cities and towns across the land. You don’t need a calculator  to break down these radiant displays—that adds up to a whole lot of and “oohs” and  ”aahs.” Massachusetts offers hundreds of fireworks displays to celebrate the Fourth of July. Even with this weekend’s uncertain weather forecast, here is list of local fireworks destinations. Hope you get to sit back and enjoy the show!

Boston - Where the Fourth … Third, Really Pops!

The Boston’s Pops Fireworks Spectacular is the best known fireworks display in Massachusetts. Due to the threat posed by Hurricane Arthur, this year’s big event will take place TONIGHT at the DCR Memorial Hatch Shell. This year's free Pops concert features special guests, The Beach Boys and the lead performers from Phantom of the Opera. The music begins at 8:30 p.m. and the fireworks take flight over the Charles at 10:30 p.m. If you don’t wants to squeeze into the crowd at the Hatch Shell, there are plenty of places on the Cambridge side of the river to set down a blanket for ideal viewing and listening. For the more adventurous soul, head over to Paddle Boston in Kendall Square to enjoy the show on the water from a canoe or kayak and watch from the river, or bring your kayak.

Worcester Celebrates Family Style – On Saturday

There are a few things you may not have known about Worcester. It is home to the first-ever American Nobel Prize winner. It hosted the first-ever National Women's Rights Convention. And it was the first place where the Declaration of Independence was ever read to a public audience. If that's not reason enough to attend Worcester's Independence Day Celebration at Cristoforo Colombo Park in Worcester, how about the Kids Korner filled with activities, symphony music and ice cream?

Please note that the Worcester celebration has been postponed until SATURDAY, JULY 5^th due to the hurricane. The park opens at 6:00 p.m. followed by a ceremonial flag ceremony at 7:45 p.m., the performance by the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra and a sizzling fireworks display at 9:30 p.m.

Fireworks and a side of Americana – On the 4^th, Rain or Shine!

For a true taste of Massachusetts history on Independence Day, Old Sturbridge Village offers a unique ‘old-fashioned’ celebration in a replica early 19th-century rural village. And despite the forecasts, the events all are still scheduled for the 4^th of July.

During the day, fife and drum bands march through the town and guests can sign a giant reproduction of the Declaration. Kids can make tri-cornered Revolution Army hats and drill with the Sturbridge Militia. There's also 19^th Century dancing and old fashioned ‘baseball.’ Dozens of immigrants also will be sworn in as U.S. citizens followed by an array of evening activities—a magic show, music from Blackstone Valley Bluegrass band, and blacksmith demonstrations by Sturbridge’s colonial “residents. The fireworks launch at dusk. Given the weather outlook, be sure to contact Old Sturbridge Village at 800-SEE-1830 (or 508-347-3362) before heading out to celebrate.