July 4th 2024 Fireworks, Events Around Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — Independence Day is fast approaching, so it's time to find out where you can celebrate in Fairfield. Area events include fireworks, festivals and other Fourth of July fun.

To help you fit it all in on your 4th of July calendar, Patch has put together a guide to what’s going on in Fairfield and the surrounding areas.

July 4 Festivities For 2024 In Fairfield

What: Independence Day Fireworks
Where: Jennings & Penfield Beaches
When: July 6 (Rain date: July 7)
Fireworks start at 9:15 p.m. The event is free; due to construction at the Penfield Pavilion, parking at Penfield Beach is across the street, as pictured below.

— Image from the Town of Fairfield

Beach Parking Lots can be accessed either with a Season Beach Pass or by purchasing a Daily Pass for $50.00 per vehicle. For more information on beach parking, click here.

Additionally, at 10 a.m. on July 4, Fairfield will host its annual Independence Day Ceremony at the Town Hall Green:

The public is cordially invited to attend the 131 st Annual Independence Day Ceremony sponsored by the United Veterans of Fairfield on Thursday, July 4, 2024 at 10:00 am on the historic Town Green in front of the Old Town Hall, 611 Old Post Road.

The Declaration of Independence will be read by students from Fairfield Teen Theatre who will dress as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas A. McHale, U.S. Army, Retired will be the guest speaker. Allison Fay will be the guest singer.

Following the ceremony, the Eunice Dennie Burr Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution will serve light refreshments on the Town Green.

Everyone is welcome to attend this celebration of our Nation’s 248 th Birthday!

In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved to American Legion Post 74/VFW Post 9427 at 197 Reef Road.

For more information, please contact Veteran Roger Moscater, Master of Ceremonies, @ 203-814-7040.

Today, Americans celebrate the birth of a new nation with fireworks, parades, concerts, and family gatherings and barbecues. Celebrations, though, predate by centuries the designation of Independence Day as a federal holiday, which didn’t happen until 1941.

During the pivotal summer of 1776, the pre-Revolutionary celebrations honoring King George III’s birthday were replaced with mock funerals as a symbolic break from the crown.

It was an exciting time in Philadelphia — the Continental Congress voted to break from the crown and, two days later on July 4, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the original 13 colonies —New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland. Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia — to adopt the Declaration of Independence.

The first annual commemoration of the nation’s independence was in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777, while the Revolutionary War was ongoing. Fireworks have been part of Fourth of July festivities since the first celebration in Philadelphia.

— Flyer from the Fairfield Parks & Recreation Department