Fourth Of July Celebration Begins With A Bang In Bucks County

ERWINNA, PA — The Fourth of July celebration got off to a bang Saturday night with the 36th Annual Concert Under the Stars at Tinicum Park.

Hundreds gathered on the grassy lawn for a picnic supper before being treated to a pre-Independence Day weekend performance by the Riverside Symphonia under the direction of Mariusz Smolij.

Considered one of the most exciting conductors of his generation, Smolij has directed the symphonia for more than 30 years.

As darkness descended, John Williams’ immortal, “Liberty Fanfare,” opened the evening’s performance followed by a “Salute to the Big Apple” featuring themes from “New York, New York,” “42nd Street” and “Lullaby of Broadway.”

The Riverside Symphonia performs at Tinicum Park Saturday night. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Kids paraded around the park with an American flag. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Some went all out with patriotic-themed picnic tables. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

This table, set up inside a canoe, won for best patriotic design. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

(Jeff Werner/Patch)

(Jeff Werner/Patch)

(Jeff Werner/Patch)

The concert continued with selections from West Side Story,” Gershwin’s jazz standard “Embraceable You,” and “Here Comes the Bands,” featuring “Begin the Beguine,” “You Made Me Love You,” “Moonlight Serenade,” and “Sing, Sing, Sing!”

The concert also included selections from “Porgy & Bess,” “International Dixieland Jamboree,” “Amazing Grace,” “America the Beautiful,” and an Armed Forces Salute to the branches of service.

The concert reached a crescendo with a patriotic musical celebration featuring the 1812 Overture and John Phillip Sousa’s immortal, “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

Click Here For A Schedule Of Fourth Of July Events In Bucks

As the Symphonia performed the stirring patriotic chords of the National March of the United States, brilliant fireworks lit up the sky in a dazzling display of color and sound.

For 20 minutes, streams of light shot high into the night sky raining a dazzling color display down from the heavens as loud bangs and flashes of lights punctuated the show.

The special evening was made possible by the Thompson Organization, the evening’s presenting sponsor, and the following sponsors: Holland Floor Covering, Withum Audit and Advisory, NJM Insurance Group, Van Horn McDonough Funeral Home, Callaway Henderson, The First National Bank of Newtown, Sotheby’s International Realty, Arthur Judson Foundation, The Presser Foundation, Bucks County Herald, Arts & Letters Foundation, and Golden Blossom Honey.

(Jeff Werner/Patch)

(Jeff Werner/Patch)