For the first time, Montgomery County will sponsor simultaneous Independence Day fireworks celebrations, in Germantown and Kensington, on July 4. Typically, the Germantown event had been held a few days in advance of the actual holiday.
“There’s really simple reasoning behind the change,” county spokeswoman Bonnie Ayers said. “The actual day of the Fourth of July should be celebrated on the Fourth of July. So we’re doing that now.”
“The Germantown Glory” celebration, which includes family activities such as moon bounces, face painting and relay races, starts at 4 p.m. at the South Germantown Recreation Park. The featured band, On the Edge, will play contemporary music from 7 p.m. until the fireworks begin at approximately 9:30.
“Mid-County Sparkles” will take place at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington. Children’s games will precede the event, as will a musical concert by Cletus Kennelly and Lori Kelley that starts at 7:15 p.m. The fireworks will get under way at 9:15.
No alcohol is permitted at either event, but coolers, blankets and lawn chairs are welcome at both.
County officials say approximately 10,000 people attended the upcounty Germantown event last year, while about 5,000 attended the 2006 Kensington event — the first time the downcounty celebration took place at Albert Einstein High School.
Previously, the downcounty fireworks displays occurred at Westfield Wheaton Mall, but Leslie Maxam, marketing and events manager for downtown Wheaton, said the location was changed to the high school because the county wanted a larger “fallout” area to launch the fireworks safely.
“Our old location was being developed, as is almost every inch of this area, so we moved to the high school,” Maxam said.
