As Independence Day weekend is upon us, most of us are planning where we will catch the best fireworks. I, myself, turn into a big kid, giddy for fireworks. I stop whenever I see them going off, even if I’m driving, and make big efforts to catch great 4th of July shows.
Last summer, I nearly missed my beloved fireworks. Staying with a family on Nauset Beach in Cape Cod, they were none too interested in joining the crowds for the shows. I was a bit disappointed until while driving home from a BBQ, we encountered a traffic cop outside the Wequassett Resort. Turned out, they were throwing their first annual fireworks display, so we turned in, sat on the beach and watched the fireworks reflect off the bay waters. A great show and I smiled for days.
But by far, my favorite fireworks show remains Boston’s. I attended college in Boston and lived in the Back Bay for eight years, just a block away from the Esplanade and the Hatch Shell, where the Boston Pops perform annually and kick off the fireworks display with a synchronized “1812 Overture.” Flags wave, the orchestra booms, and the Charles River is alit as if it were daytime with fireworks above the barges. I’ve never forgotten how wonderful it felt to be a part of that crowd, and I’m thankful the annual Pops show is televised so I can catch it from wherever I am in the States.
This year, I’m heading across the pond for the holiday weekend and I’ll miss the show. But I wish families near and far a wonderful holiday weekend filled with sparklers, watermelon-stained faces, sticky ice cream fingers, and wide-eyed wonderment when “oohing” and “aahing” at the fireworks. Happy Independence Day!
- Lissa
Boston Esplanade 4th of July. Image courtesy of David Fox, Photographer
