4th Of July Celebration To Mark Nation's 250th In New Hope-Lambertville

NEW HOPE, PA — Plans are in the works for a three-daythe Fourth of July celebration marking the nation’s 250th birthday in New Hope and Lambertville.

Organizers Richard Creter, president of America Celebrates, and Michael Sklar, president of the Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce, came before borough council in April to secure special event permits from the borough for the “America Celebrates” event.

Dubbed the Twin River Towns Of New Hope and Lambertville 250th Celebration, the event is scheduled to launch on Friday, July 3, and continue through Sunday, July 5.

The celebration is scheduled to begin on Friday, July 3, with rotating staged events on the promenade at Stella from 1 to 8 p.m.

“There will be different educational events, book authors, re-enactments, and speaking events on the New Hope stage,” said Creter.

During the same time frame, musical acts will be performing live on the Lambertville side of the river. Roxy Ballet will also be doing a reenactment.

The events will lead up to 9 p.m. and include an 18 minute fireworks and drone show over the Delaware River.

“We will have two launch boats in the river about 30 to 40 feet apart,” said Creter. “We will also have 200 drones that will launch from the Lambertville side. There will be stadium speakers on both sides of the river and a voice-over that will introduce the evening’s show.

“It is going to be a spectacular event that’s going to bring a lot of people into town,” said Creter.

Shuttle buses are scheduled to operate from the parking lot at the high school to Stockton Avenue. Shuttles will operate throughout the event beginning at 1 p.m., with extra shuttles operating following the fireworks.

The celebration continues on Saturday, July 4, with a Revolutionary Pub Crawl beginning at 2 p.m. in Lambertville. The crawl will cross the river into New Hope, ending at the American Legion parking lot.

From 4 to 10 p.m., four bands will be performing at the American Legion parking lot, including a Donna Summer’s tribute band and an ABBA cover band.

The celebration concludes on Sunday, July 5, at 10 a.m. with a parade from New Hope to Lambertville.

The parade will step off from New Street and march north on Main Street to the bridge. The parade will then cross the bridge and conclude at the Lambertville Station parking lot.

There will be a dragon boat race with two boats participating, one flying the American flag and one flying the British flag.

Following the race, a closing ceremony will be held around noon on the two stages. Past and present mayors from both towns will be reading sections of the Declaration on both stages at the same time and guest musicians will be singing “God Bless America.”

In granting three separate special events permits for the event, the council agreed to charge a flat $500 application fee where $1500 would have been required for the multiple day event.

The council also agreed to waive up to $5,000 in police costs for the three day event. Any costs above and beyond the $5,000 will be paid for by America Celebrates.