Major celebratory events for the United States’ 250th anniversary are planned throughout the state of New York, from Long Island to the northern and western parts of the state.
The City of Port Jervis will host the America the Beautiful Festival on June 13 and June 14. The event will feature Revolutionary War reenactors, food, and live folk and Americana music. Families can bring their children to the rural Hudson Valley celebration to enjoy a car show, bouncy castles, and a scheduled performance by two-time world champion chainsaw woodcarver Dennis Beach.
Coming up on June 24 at the Webster Arboretum near the City of Rochester is a family-friendly festival, near the shores of Lake Ontario. The event will feature a reading of the Declaration of Independence, historical games, and stories about the native Seneca and other Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) peoples. Visitors can listen to American traditional Dixie and barbershop live music while touring the gardens on Webster.
In New York Harbor, from July 3 to July 9, a large fleet of tall ships will be coming to salute the Statue of Liberty. Tall ships generally mean various traditionally rigged vessels, such as schooners, barquentines, or full-rigged ships, depending on the number of masts and cut of the sails.
July 3 will see a parade of tall ships that are less than 40 meters (about 131 feet) long. On July 4, more than 30 tall ships from around the world will sail up the Hudson to the George Washington Bridge. Proceedings will include both the International Naval Review and the International Aerial Review.
The ships will be docked and open for visitation from July 5 to July 8, and on July 9, four sister ships will race from New York to Boston for the Five Sisters Cup Tall Ship Race.
Independence Day the 18th Century Way will be held on July 4 at Fort Stanwix National Monument in the City of Rome, New York. The event will begin with a memorial service from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldiers. The park will host a day of events, running until 4 p.m., including tributes to the fallen, with cannon and musket salutes. Visitors can sign their own Declaration of Independence or British loyalty oaths.
Fireworks and dancing will populate the Empire State Plaza on July 4. The Albany government center will feature live music from professional artists and local schools from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., ending with a fireworks display.
The annual FourLeaf Air Show in Long Island will take place on July 5 and July 6. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will headline the performance, and the show will feature other military and civilian aerobatic demonstrations.
The Turning Point Festival celebrates the victory of American forces over the British at the Battles of Saratoga. The Town of Schuylerville near Saratoga will host the annual Turning Point Parade on Aug. 2, and the festival on Aug. 8. The parade will feature more than 100 units walking the route where British General John Burgoyne surrendered in 1777, and the festival will include food, music, and fireworks.
In Westchester, the 4,000-acre Ward Pound Ridge Reservation will be used for a two-day large-scale reenactment on Oct. 24 and Oct. 25. Reenactors will bring back the Battle of White Plains, where George Washington’s Continental Army clashed with British and Hessian troops and set the stage for the Delaware crossing at the Battle of Trenton.
Historical site Fort Ticonderoga, site of America’s first victory in the war, is offering tours and reenactments from July 3 to July 5. The “Return of an Army” reenactment will show the arrival of the retreating Northern Continental Army to the fort, where they construct defensive positions and take care of the sick and wounded at the general hospital. Fort Ticonderoga lies on the south narrows of Lake Champlain in northern New York.
