Sure, the city celebrations of the Fourth of July are great, but there’s plenty to do in Virginia and Maryland, too. Check out some of these festivities (on July 4 unless otherwise noted) to celebrate with a bang:
Virginia
Fairfax City. Few places do it up better than this city, which has a parade (10 a.m.), Old-Fashioned Fireman’s Day (12:30 p.m.), open houses (various times) and music and fireworks (7 p.m.) Fairfax High School.
Falls Church. Festivities and live music by the Merchants of Cool begin at 7 p.m. and lead up to the fireworks at 9:30 p.m. George Mason High School, 7124 Leesburg Pike.
Leesburg. Enjoy the hometown parade (10 a.m.) and return for the “Celebration in the Park” (6 p.m. Ida Lee Park, 60 Ida Lee Drive) to enjoy food, music and fireworks.
McLean. There’s plenty of variety in McLean’s celebration, which features fireworks, music performances, food and games from 6 to 10 p.m. at Langley High School, 6520 Georgetown Pike.
Reston. Get some food from the vendors and relax until fireworks begin about 9:15 p.m. Lake Fairfax Park, 1400 Lake Fairfax Drive.
Springfield/Franconia area/Alexandria. A carousel, kids’ activities, vendors and more starting at 4 p.m. The Sock Monkeys perform from 7 to 9 p.m. before a color guard leads the formal ceremony from 9 until fireworks at 9:15 p.m. at Lee District Park, 6601 Telegraph Road in Franconia.
Maryland
College Park. Enjoy food and music by the Fabulous Hubcaps from 7 p.m. until about 9 p.m. when fireworks begin. University of Maryland, College Park. Parking Lot 1, off Campus Drive near the University Boulevard/Adelphi Road entrance.
Gaithersburg. The gates open at 5 p.m. for festivities, which include live entertainment beginning at 7 p.m. and fireworks begin at dusk. Montgomery County Fairgrounds, 16 Chestnut St.
Germantown. Kids will have a blast on the moon bounces and playing games while enjoying music and food starting at 5 p.m. until fireworks at 9:10 p.m. Activities are at Municipal Park, 1891 Exeter Road.
National Harbor. A summer festival with plenty of kids games plus pop, rock and country music and other entertainment begins at 4:30 p.m. and continues until the fireworks begin at sundown. Gaylord National Resort, 201 Waterfront St., National Harbor.
Takoma Park. Start off the day with a parade at 10 a.m. (near Carroll and Ethan Allen avenues), then top it off with music beginning at 7 p.m. and fireworks at 9:30 p.m. at Takoma Park Middle School, 7611 Piney Branch Road.
