Thousands gather for daylong festivities celebrating Fourth of July in Boston

Boston Globe

05-07-2025

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Angela Martin, 54, of Florida, was blown away by Boston's parade Friday morning.
'The Minutemen come out with the band and I'm like, 'What is this?'' she said. 'It was so meaningful.'
Dan Burns, Michele DeParasis, and Al Chin of the Billerica Colonial Minute Men enjoyed the confetti during the 249th Independence Day Celebration at Old State House.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Friday's festivities came on the heels of the milestone commemorations in April of the 250th anniversary of the Revolution's 'shots heard round the world'
In Boston Friday, some took the anniversary as an opportunity to protest President Trump — reusing 'No Kings' signs and shirts from last month's rallies.
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Tim Cooke, 67, from Brookline, displayed a sign reading, 'No Kings since 1776,' as he walked the Esplanade with his dog, Lucy.
'Done without for 249 years,' Cooke said. 'So let's keep it going.'
But for the most part, people set aside politics to celebrate America. Many celebrated their freedom to speak up, to work, to pursue their happiness.
The first person on the grass at the Hatch Memorial Shell Friday was Nikki Jax, 57, of New York. Jax, a woman of transgender experience, teared up as she thought about freedom.
'All the gifts of the universe were given to me after I transitioned,' Jax said. 'So freedom for me is the freedom to walk my path.'
'I love my country,' said Cathleen Curran of Lowell. 'As long as we're doing things for the country and not letting politics get in our heads, we're the greatest country.'
By mid-afternoon, hours before the Pops show was set to begin, hundreds were spread out in the Hatch Shell, the Charles River Esplanade, across the Charles in Cambridge, and bobbing on boats in the river. Doraehea Chiu, a visitor from Taiwan on a three-month trip to the US, marveled at how everyone was able to celebrate together.
'No matter whether you are rich or poor, no matter if you are a manager at the bank, or you are a worker building a house, they are really equal,' she said. 'They all enjoy it the same way. They all went to the harbor to see the fireworks.'
Members of the Wilmington Minutemen fired their muskets while marching in the 249th Independence Day Celebration parade.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Karen Lopez, 28, of Paraguay, was also eager to see how Americans celebrate, taking in a week of festivities including a parade and laser show in Wilmington, Mass., where she lives.
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'I like to explore another country and their Independence Day traditions,' she said.
Those traditions began early in Boston Friday. After thousands wearing patriotic colors recited the Pledge of Allegiance at City Hall Plaza, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu greeted the crowd and thanked military families for their service.
'Two hundred and forty-nine years ago today, from this very spot, we declared our independence,' Wu said to the crowd. 'We declared that Boston would not back down in the face of tyranny, in the face of bullying. Not to kings and not to the greatest army in the world at that time.'
The mayor then joined the parade led by the Boston Fire Department to the Old State House for the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence.
At the end of the reading, red, white, and blue confetti fell from the sky as the Frank Zarba Military Band played, and some in the crowd chanted 'USA, USA.'
Soon after, across town, others watched as the USS Constitution set off from its dock at the Charlestown Navy Yard for its annual cruise of Boston Harbor.
The world's oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat, the 228-year-old ship was undefeated in 33 military
engagements, including during the War of 1812
A hushed silence fell over the crowd in Charlestown as the ship, nicknamed 'Old Ironsides,' slowly left the dock. As it turned into the harbor, a cannon went off, producing grey smoke and a round of applause.
'I feel American now,' one onlooker said.
Hundreds gathered at Castle Island's Fort Independence Park to watch the ship's 21-gun salute.
The celebrations felt personal to Alex G. Lee, a naturalized citizen originally from South Korea. He pointed out a statue commemorating the Korean War down the boardwalk, and said the cannonade reminded him of his service.
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'This day is so meaningful, not only for the independence of the United States, he said. 'I'm celebrating everything."
The crowd listened to the reading of the Declaration of Independence during the 249th Independence Day Celebration at the Old State House.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Back in Downtown Crossing, Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes & Drums performed at the Franklin Steps. Among them was Bill Phenix, who has been playing the fife for 53 years and can recall playing it during bicentennial celebrations in 1776.
'If you told me then that I would still be doing this, I probably would have looked at you like you lost your mind,' he said. 'It's a lifelong pursuit.'
The celebrations Friday are a lifelong pursuit for many. Dorchester's Mike Williams, 58, has been coming to the Esplanade for more than half a century, since he was 6. Sharon Davis, of Machias, Maine, remembers watching the Pops on television as a kid; she first got to attend in person a few years ago. For Eli Rodriguez, 34, of Ashland, the Fourth of July is always one of the biggest days of the year for the
Jax, the first person waiting at the Hatch early Friday morning, came to Boston to see the show in 1985. She never forgot it.
'I remember it as being one of the most singular, beautiful experiences with humanity,' she said.
Christopher Huffaker can be reached at