Cannons, a marching band and fireworks capped off the Fourth of July weekend in Lancaster, PA this year!
Long's Park was the focal point for an estimated 35,000 Lancastrians to celebrate our country's birthday!
The festivities were scheduled to officially start at 7:30 pm. Knowing that the crowds would be large, we arrived an hour and a half early - only to be turned away at the lower entrance to the park, which was alread full.
We were guided into an upper meadow, where the overflow cars were parked. Those who came too late to park inside Long's Park at all had to cross over into Park City Center. There is a pedestrian tunnel which runs from Park City's parking lot, under Route 30 into Long's Park.
We brought a picnic dinner with us, along with folding chairs and a blanket, and set up our little space near the top of the hill overlooking the band shell.
There were food concessions, from hot dogs and burgers to ice cream, funnel cakes and one stand with beautiful large blooming onions. of course, if you wanted food from the concessions, you had to put up with the long lines...
The music was provided by the 257th Army Band - the same one that played at the inaugeration of Barack Obama. They started out with a medley of Beatles tunes, then some WWII big band numbers, including "American Patrol".
Then it was time for Lancaster ex-Mayor Charlie Smithgall's cannons, accompanied by the Army Band's rousing rendition of the 1812 Overture.
As night fell, the fireworks started, to the accompaniment of patriotic marches...
©2009BrianSchulman
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Brian Schulman offers expert real estate representation for buying and selling homes in Lancaster County, PA. To learn more, visit http://www.FindLancasterHomes.com/ |
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Brian Schulman offers expert real estate representation for buyers and sellers of homes in Lancaster County, PA. To learn more, visit http://www.FindLancasterHomes.com/ |
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Looks like someone had a really good time there Brian....love the shirt!
Great pictures & display of your area celebration!
Al & Peggy, I must say that I was in a patriotic mood!
Monique, thanks for stopping by!
Hello Brian,
Wow! You sure had a lot of people celebrating the 4th of July in Lancaster! Thank you for sharing your area's holiday celebration & photos! Have a great week!
Rita
Brian - great photographic record of your local 4th celebration, looks like a large crowd that was well entertained.
Rita, this Lancaster event always gets a great turnout. In past years we've had as many as 50,000 people in attendance!
Mike, the crowd was in a celebratory mood, yet entirely well behaved. The fact that no alcohol is allowed in the park is no doubt a factor...
That IS a big crowd. I heard finding your seat from the bathroom was an adventure after dark...
Brian,
Looks like you had alot of fun. Thanks for sharing here:)
Jeff, you're right, finding your place after dark was almost impossible without a flashlight or a landmark! We found that the easiest way to get around was to make our way along the outer edge of the park where no one had chairs or blankets...
Mike, we did indeed have a lot of fun. Thanks for commenting.
Brian how much fun does this all look ! great post simple pleasures in live having a fun day with family and friends remember who we are as a country ! Have a wonderful and successful weekend
Lynn, this weekend I felt the need to celebrate the real reason for the July 4th holiday. Obviously many other folks felt the same way! It was a great weekend.
How neat. I wish I'd been there, very, very Americana! Was it hot that day?
You left a comment on my blog about folks that sign up with weird names, and I was wondering if you'd see AR Bob's blog on spam. And if that explains the posts you've been experiencing.
Marianne, it wasn't terribly hot - in fact it was quite pleasant that day! As the evening wore on it got cooler.