Harborfest kicks off America’s largest 4th of July celebration in Boston this weekend

BOSTON — America’s largest Fourth of July weekend returns to Boston this weekend for the 41st year. From June 30 to July 4, Boston will party like it’s 1776 as celebrations and activities stretch from the Boston Common to the harbor.

Mayor Michelle Wu will deliver help kick off the week-long celebration with a ceremony at the Steps at the Downtown Crossing Friday at noon. Revolutionary War-era reenactors and staff from the USS Constitution will mingle with visitors while the Massachusetts 215th Army Band strike up some tunes. Several other musical performers will perform on The Steps every afternoon and evening.

Summer Street Plaza will also be bustling Friday. The DTX Arts and Crafts Market will showcase local artists and craftsmen.

The following day, The Steps at Downtown Crossing will again allow families to hang out and enjoy a wide array of music genres. Visitors can also turn back the clock to colonial times as living historians reenact what life was like before America was the United States.

The Steps at Downtown Crossing will turn into a pop-up runway for Macy’s Great American Show. Amateur models will show off the latest fashions and accessories from Macy’s.

Saturday night, Christopher Columbus Park will host a concert and a fireworks show. An array of musical performances will perform for audiences on the lawn before the fireworks display lights up Boston Harbor.

Boston will go to the dogs on Sunday when Patriotic Poochapalooza. Dogs and their owners can compete in categories such as Most Patriotic Pooch. There will also be a Doggie Marketplace and free trees for every man, woman and canine.

On July 4th, Boston’s Independence Day Parade will begin at 9:00 a.m. The parade will begin at City Hall Plaza, briefly stopping at the Granary Burial Ground, where wreaths will be laid on the graves of patriots, before ending at the Old State House. The Declaration of Independence will be read from the building’s balcony.

The USS Constitution will then set sail from the Charlestown Navy Yard and cruise through Boston Harbor before stopping near Fort of Independence for a 21-gun salute.

Back at the Steps, the Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes and Drums repertoire will play music from the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Downtown Boston BID will then host a community-led reading of Frederick Douglass’s abolitionist speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular will put a cap on the holiday with the world-renowned Fireworks Spectacular.

The full schedule of events and performances can be found at www.bostonharborfest.com.

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