Manassas Park Community Matters Blog: Independence Day-By Tony Thomas

Recently I had the privilege to travel abroad and spend a few days in South America; Peru to be exact. While there, I was very observant of all that went on and the subtle differences in their culture and customs compared to ours, and the one thing that blew me away was how much national pride that everyone seemed to have. In the part of Peru that I was visiting, it was very much a case of the have’s and the have not’s, however, everyone regardless of their economic or social status was extremely proud of their country. Often you would hear people singng the national song of their Country, or hear them bragging about their cuisine, and how great life is in their country. Throughout my short stay, one thing was consistent and that was they were proud of their heritage.

On the plane ride back to the states, I began to think is there anything similar in America that we are all proud of and take pride in? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure plenty of us, if not all of us, are proud to be American, but it seemed in Peru they tend to show their pride a little more. As I continued to reflect, I realized that we do show plenty of patriotism in this great country; and there is no greater example of that than when we celebrate our Independence Day, July 4! Every year this day is celebrated by Americans near and far with barbecues, parades, festivals and most importantly fireworks! Do you know the history of Independence Day, or why we celebrate with fireworks?

Here’s a quick history lesson on why we celebrate our Independence Day on July 4th. “During the American Revolution, legal separation of the Thirteen colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain. After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence,  a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4.”

There you have it, our great nation’s actual independence from Great Britain occurred on July 2, however, it took a couple of days to finalize the details and that’s why we celebrate on the 4th. Fireworks are a long-time tradition in the celebration of our Independence Day, and that all started in 1776, when our forefathers would shoot off guns, cannons and fireworks to celebrate our nation’s freedom. A tradition that is 237 years old is still continued to this day. In fact, the City of Manassas Park has one of the most amazing and vibrant fireworks displays in all of Northern Virginia. Thousands of people come from all over to cram into Signal Hill Park to watch the beautiful colors and hear thundering effects of these fireworks.

If you have not seen our City’s fireworks, then I personally invite you to stop by and join us as we celebrate our Independence. A couple of important notes and reminders that you will need to be cognizant of before attending are the following:

• No alcohol or fireworks will be allowed. This includes sparklers.
• We will have limited general parking available for $5, beginning at 5:30 pm. The parking inside of the park will be reserved strictly for handicap patrons.
• There will be free shuttle buses dropping off at the corner of Manassas Dr. and Signal View Dr. These shuttles will be picking up at City Hall (1 Park Center Ct.) and the VRE parking lot (9300 Manassas Dr).
• All bags and purses will be searched prior to admittance into the park.
• The event is FREE.

As a proud American, I sincerely hope to see each and every one of you at Signal Hill for our July 4th celebration as we commemorate the greatest event in our nation’s history. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Community Center at (703) 335-8872.

Thanks for reading and have a great summer!

Tony

Community Matters is a blog created by the City of Manassas Park Department of Parks and Recreation. The blog features program updates, announcements of new services, special event notices, or information of general interest.