People around the United States celebrated the Fourth of July with parades, fireworks, naturalization ceremonies and music Saturday, marking the nation’s 239 years as an independent nation.
In Washington, D.C., the weather didn’t fully cooperate.
Rainstorms drenched the region around the White House, forcing the cancellation of an annual picnic for military service members and their families on the South Lawn.
Still, many festivities in Washington proceeded as scheduled, including a fife and drum corps parade and concerts on the National Mall.
As the morning rains cleared, the capital’s National Independence Day Parade kicked off. The parade featured marching bands, floats and balloons with plenty of red, white and blue.
Participating in the parade were some Arkansans. As part of the festivities, Cabot High School’s marching band played “This is My Country” and “God Bless America.”
According to a Cabot Public Schools news release, the band members left Cabot on Thursday and are to return home Wednesday. About 200 students were to make the trip. This was the band’s fourth time to participate in the Fourth of July parade.
In addition to performing in the parade, the students were to watch a fireworks display at the National Mall and visit the national monuments, the Smithsonian Institution and the Marine Barracks, according to the release. Three drum majors also were to perform at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
Elsewhere in Washington, the U.S. Air Force Band was to perform on the Washington Monument grounds.
Speaking minutes before the annual Fourth of July fireworks lit up the night sky over the National Mall, President Barack Obama said U.S. service members make it possible to enjoy the “incredible blessings” in the greatest country on Earth.
“Freedom is not free,” he said, but is paid for by all the men and women of the military, including those who blanketed the White House South Lawn for a concert in their honor by Bruno Mars. The USO military service organization sponsored the concert.
The city’s big event, the Capitol Fourth concert hosted on the Capitol building’s west lawn, was to feature Barry Manilow and the National Symphony Orchestra.
Naturalization ceremonies big and small were held across the nation as part of the holiday.
The director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Baltimore district administered the oath of allegiance to 40 people from 27 countries during a Saturday ceremony at The Engineers Club in that city.
In Plymouth, Vt., 20 people became U.S. citizens at the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site. The great-granddaughter of former President Coolidge and his wife sang the national anthem.
Officials say more than 4,000 people became U.S. citizens during more than 50 naturalization ceremonies held across the country from Wednesday to Saturday.
In Eau Claire, Mich., 15-yearold Megan Ankrapp of Buchanan won the women’s division of the city’s 42nd annual cherry-spitting contest by sending a pit farther: 49¼ feet. Kevin Bartz won the overall championship at 48 feet and 8 inches. Ankrapp was not eligible to compete in that championship match.
In Iowa and New Hampshire, parades served as clear reminders of the race for the White House: Red balloons promoted “Jeb! 2016,” a tractor draped in a Rick Perry banner rolled past, and volunteers held up signs and chanted.
Former Govs. Jeb Bush of Florida, Rick Perry of Texas and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, as well as U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina worked the crowd in Amherst, N.H. Meanwhile, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton marched in a parade in New Hampshire’s North Country.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida’s U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio spent the holiday in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley met voters in Iowa.
Abroad, nearly 10,000 American troops in Afghanistan and Kuwait received slices of pizza compliments of Chicago-based Pizza 4 Patriots. Among the donations were 5,500 pizzas from the Buffalo, N.Y.-based Rich Products.
Philadelphia marked the holiday with a Celebration of Freedom ceremony, a parade through the city’s historic district, and a concert and fireworks display from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press, and by Sarah D. Wire of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
A Section on 07/05/2015