PITTSBURGH, PA — Independence Day is fast approaching, so here is the lowdown on the celebration in Pittsburgh.

The city’s Independence Day Celebration will feature free family activities, music, food and entertainment in Point State Park, Liberty Avenue and North Shore.

Kicking off at 4 p.m. activities will include the Clearview Family Fun Zone, Trulieve Veterans Wellness Corner and non-stop musical entertainment on the main stage in Point State Park in addition to the Peoples Food Truck Corral and Sargent Electric Solar Stage along Liberty Avenue.

Across the river on the North Shore, a Fireside DJ will entertain on the PNC Great Lawn,
the location of the RE/MAX hot air balloon and a variety of food concessionaires.

The day’s main attraction, the spectacular Independence Day Fireworks, will begin at 9:35pm. Tune in to 100.1 FM KDKA for a live broadcast of a 25-minute fireworks soundtrack from TJ
the DJ paying tribute to Independence Day. Viewers can watch the celebration from home live on WPXI-TV.

On Independence Day, 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.