NEW YORK — Americans celebrated their country’s 241st birthday with big-time fireworks, small-town parades and the quirky spectacle of competitive hot dog eating.
Tuesday’s festivities stretched from a baseball home run derby in London to a picnic at the White House to a Utah ski town where residents initially weren’t even sure they’d be home for Independence Day after recent wildfires.
For all the pomp and celebration, July Fourth marks a day of shared traditions in a nation that has grappled with divides this past year. And in an era of concerns about security, the Independence Day celebrations are mixed with precautions.
Here are some highlights:
LIGHTING UP THE SKIES
In New York, throngs are expected to watch the annual Macy’s fireworks show, which involves 60,000 shells launched from up to five barges on the East River and performances by Jennifer Lopez, Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley and others. It’s televised on NBC.
Organizers of Chicago’s Independence Day celebration were expecting such large crowds that the city’s Navy Pier opened at 10 a.m., nearly 12 hours before fireworks were starting. Hundreds of thousands of people also were expected at Boston’s fireworks show and Boston Pops concert.
CALIFORNIA CELEBRATES WITH CLASSIC CARS
Decked out in red, white and blue, Californians waved flags and sang patriotic songs at Independence Day parades across the state.
Hundreds lined the streets under bright sunshine Tuesday for seaside Santa Monica’s annual celebration, which featured bands and classic cars.
California’s love affair with the automobile was also front-and-center at South Pasadena’s parade, which had the theme “Freedom on the Road. Celebrating Route 66.”
When the sun sets, the parties will continue with fireworks displays. Among the largest in the Los Angeles area will be the annual fanfare at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
To the north, officials are hoping clouds will clear in time for the big display over San Francisco Bay.
SENATORS CELEBRATE FOURTH WITH TROOPS ABROAD
Rhode Island U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says it was emotional and inspiring to spend July Fourth with troops in Afghanistan.
Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, led a group of senators to Pakistan and Afghanistan for the holiday weekend. They visited a military base in South Waziristan and met with Pakistani leaders in Islamabad before traveling to Kabul, Afghanistan.
Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, told The Associated Press in a phone interview from Bagram airfield on Tuesday it was emotional because service members in Afghanistan are constantly in harm’s way and constantly making the nation proud.
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Georgia Republican Sen. David Perdue are on the trip. They met with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani.
WELCOMING NEW AMERICANS
More than 15,000 new citizens will be sworn in during more than 65 Independence Day-themed naturalization ceremonies across the country. They are taking place in locales ranging from courthouses to parks to aircraft-carriers-turned-museums.
GULP! HOW MANY HOT DOGS CAN A PERSON EAT?
Record-setting hot dog eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut held onto his title at the hot dog eating contest at Nathan’s Famous in New York on Tuesday, breaking the record he set last year. The San Jose, California, man chowed down 72 hot dogs in 10 minutes, besting last year’s mark of 70.
Meanwhile, Miki Sudo notched a fourth straight win in the women’s division on the Coney Island boardwalk. The Las Vegas woman ate 41 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.
TRADITIONAL ATLANTA ROAD RACE DRAW 65k
Tens of thousands of amateur runners in Atlanta have celebrated the Fourth of July by trailing after an elite band of professionals in the city’s annual 10-K race.
Organizers of the AJC Peachtree Road Race say more than 55,000 runners took part Tuesday morning in hot, humid weather under clear skies.
DAYLONG PARTY IN PHILLY
In Philadelphia, where the Founding Fathers approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, a daylong national birthday party is taking place.
At a celebration of freedom ceremony at Independence Hall on Tuesday morning, members of Boyz II Men read excerpts from the document, and a parade was held through the city’s historic area. Descendants of some of the signers of the Declaration were to take part in the annual ceremonial tapping of the Liberty Bell later Tuesday.
Then, hundreds of thousands were expected to attend a party on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway with hours of free music capped by a concert by Mary J. Blige and ending with the annual fireworks display.
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAY
Residents of the southern Utah ski resort town of Brian Head were planning a fireworks-free celebration, having returned home just this past Friday after a wildfire forced evacuations in the town two weeks earlier.
“None of us even knew if we were going to be open for the Fourth of July,” Brian Head Resort spokesman Mark Wilder said.
The alpine town is near several national monuments and parks in Utah’s red rock country. Brian Head is normally filled with vendors selling crafts and food on the holiday, one of the biggest celebrated at the resort and the start of the area’s festival season, Wilder said.
But he said the town has suspended its fireworks show this year because the area is still too dry and ripe for fires.
“I’m sure people are disappointed with that, but better safe than sorry,” Wilder said.
Meanwhile, at California’s Squaw Valley ski resort, skiers were poised to enjoy a rare July Fourth on the slopes. It’s only the fourth time the resort has ever been open in July.
