3-Day Birthday Bash To Celebrate America's 250th In New Hope-Lambertville

NEW HOPE-LAMBERTVILLE, NJ — A giant Fourth of July celebration including fireworks, parades and dramatic readings of the Declaration of Independence will mark America' s 250th birthday in the river towns of New Hope and Lambertvile in July.

The Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce and America Celebrates Inc. are teaming up to present an unfogettable three-day spectacular on Friday, July 3, Saturday, July 4 and Sunday, July 5.

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The "New Hope-Lambertville America 250 Festival" will bring together more than 50 community, tourism and hospitality organizations for the celebration happening in the very place where George Washington was a regular during Revolutionary times.

The celebration launches Friday, July 3 with New Hope's largest fireworks and drone show in history (two barges and 200 drones), Music Mountain Theatre performing Stars and Stripes, Roxey Ballet presenting NJ Ballad and period actors on both riverbanks.

Saturday highlights include reenactors playing George Washington, Anna Strong, Samuel Adams and a Continental Army soldier leading a pub crawl across the bridge into New Hope, and the America 250 Celebrates Concert with The Sam Ryan Band, Forever Donna (Donna Summer Tribute) and Dancing Dream (ABBA Tribute).

A Revolutionary Pub Crawl will make its way from Lambertville across the river to New Hope on July 4th. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Sunday's highlights include a Freedom Parade, Relentless Dragon Boat Race America vs. Great Britain, readings of the Declaration of Independence by the mayors of New Hope and Lambertville (past and present), and “God Bless America” performance with church bells ringing on both sides of the river. All events are free and family friendly - except the pub crawl and concert, which require separate tickets. For details and additional events, click here.

New Hope and Lambertville both have documented roles in the American Revolution. New Hope was then known as Coryell’s Ferry, a strategic Delaware River crossing that Congress ordered defended in the spring of 1777. Major General Benedict Arnold, three years before being accused of treason, established his Continental Army headquarters at the Logan Inn at the corner of Ferry and Main streets. George Washington stayed at the same tavern multiple times during the war.

The Logan, originally built as the Ferry Tavern in 1727, still serves food and drinks today as one of the oldest continuously running inns in the country. The basement where dead Continental soldiers were stored through the frozen winters until the ground thawed for burial is still down there.

The Logan Inn, New Hope. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

"New Hope and Lambertville played a critical part in our country's history," said Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce President Michael Sklar. "As you walk down Main Street, you are walking where George Washington walked 250 years ago. You can be part of history again as we join forces to bring a giant celebration to the Delaware River.

"We are proud to team up with America Celebrates and over 50 other organizations for a riverbank to riverbank celebration unlike anything ever produced here before," he continued. "The three-day extravaganza will include a record-setting fireworks and drone show to light up the skies, reenactors bringing history to life, cultural performances, and an epic Dragon Boat Race pitting the colors of America against the colors of Great Britain."

He added, "The line-up has something for every age and every vibe - from intimate historical events to high-energy moments and dancing with thousands of people at the July 4th concert. We have a little something for everyone. Also look for decorations, food specials, theme drinks, sales and more at dozens of our local small and independent businesses. They are the heart of New Hope and Lambertville - and together we can't welcome the country to our front doors and riverbanks."

“In addition to the fantastic concert at the New Hope American Legion lot, we have planned three days of wonderful educational and celebratory events over the July 4th weekend," said Dick Creter, President of America Celebrates Inc. "We can't wait to activate the banks of the twin river towns. We are especially excited for the America 250 pub crawl from Lambertville to New Hope and the ‘revolutionary tavern’ set up at the concert area at the Legion lot. The crawl-goers can stay for the concert and enjoy the entertainment.”

The celebration will feature the sights and sounds of the American Revolution. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Friday, July 3

The festival opens Friday, July 3 with afternoon and evening performances on platform stages on both sides of the river. Children’s author Abigale Readlinger will lead a discussion of The Young Federalists on the New Hope River Promenade beginning at 1 p.m., with complimentary copies of the book provided to the public.

Through the afternoon and evening, professional actors in full period costume will portray George Washington, Martha Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Admiral DeGrasse, General Henry Knox, and other figures of the Revolutionary era.

Roxey Ballet will perform "NJ Ballad," a 30-minute recreation of Washington’s Crossing and the road to Trenton, in two shows at the Lambertville Station stage at 5 and 8:15 p.m. Music Mountain Theatre will perform “Stars and Stripes” between the two ballet shows.

Friday closes at 9 p.m. with a 20-minute spectacular over the Delaware River. Fireworks launched from two boats anchored mid-river will pair with a 200-drone patriotic light show and a fully synchronized soundtrack of patriotic music. The drone show is twice the size of the Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce’s annual display.

For the first time ever,stadium-quality speakers will be located throughout downtown New Hope and downtown Lambertville so that everyone walking on either side of the river hears the same music at the same moment, as the same fireworks burst overhead and the same drones form patriotic images in the sky.

Saturday, July 4

America’s 250th birthday opens at 2 p.m. with a ticketed Revolutionary Pub Crawl presented by Revolutionary Crawls and Events, leaving Lambertville Station. Reenactors portraying George Washington, Anna Strong, Samuel Adams, and a Continental Army soldier in full kit will lead the crawl across the bridge into New Hope. Crawl-goers will stop at the Promenade stage for first-person accounts of wartime leadership, the Culper spy ring, and revolutionary tavern culture, and arrive at the New Hope American Legion lower parking lot at 41 New Street around 4 p.m. in time for the concert.

DJ Wodi will serve as master of ceremonies for the evening, spinning from 4 p.m. as crawl-goers arrive and warming up the crowd ahead of the live sets. The concert at the Legion lot runs from 5 to 10 p.m. The Sam Ryan Band opens the night, fronted by New Hope native Sam Ryan, who tours nationally as lead singer of the three-time Grammy-winning band Blood, Sweat & Tears. "Forever Donna: The Ultimate Donna Summer Tribute" starring Rainere Martin follows, and "Dancing Dream," a New York City-based ABBA tribute band founded in 2009 and featured on the Stephen Colbert Show, closes the show. Entry to the concert is $10. Food tents and a full bar will be on site.

Sunday, July 5

The festival closes Sunday, July 5 with a 10 a.m. Freedom Parade. The march steps off from the New Hope American Legion lot, crosses the bridge, and ends at Lambertville Station. Actors in period dress with fife and drum will lead the column, followed by veterans of both American Legion posts, scout troops, the Tri-County Band under the director of Karen Reavy, and the New Hope Eagle Fire Company’s antique Mack truck engine alongside the Lambertville Fire Department.

At 11:30 a.m., a Relentless Dragon Boat Race launches from under the bridge that connects the two towns. Two crews will compete on the same river that decided so many of the founding battles. One boat will carry the colors of America. The other will carry the colors of Great Britain. Mayors and dignitaries will deliver dramatic readings of the Declaration of Independence on platform stages on both shores. At noon, singers from the Bucks County Playhouse and Music Mountain Theatre will perform “God Bless America” simultaneously, one chorus from each side of the river, while church bells ring in unison across both towns to mark America’s 250th. One sound, one river, two states.

Throughout The Weekend

Look for decorations, specials, features, sales, store promotions, exhibitions and more at three dozen (and growing) small businesses.