Founding father John Adams urged Americans to celebrate their country’s independence “with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations … for evermore.”
So it is – every year. Communities celebrate the Fourth of July with picnics, barbecues, parades, and, yes, by blowing things up.
The sky was illuminated over parks, lakes and stadiums, from big cities to small towns. But the Fourth isn’t just about the fireworks.
“It’s the whole town getting together,” said Julie De Witt of the small Eastern Plains town of Byers.
Substitute the word “country” for “town,” and that’s the spirit of the Fourth of July.
In Denver, the Salvation Army hosted its annual community picnic for the homeless in its downtown parking lot. The line to get in wrapped around a city block. Many waited more than two hours for the burgers and hot dogs. Organizers expected to serve more than 2,000 people.
“It’s a feeling of great satisfaction to help people with their basic needs,” said Mike Gelski, who organizes special projects for the Salvation Army. “The other side of it is it’s kind of sad that we are the family to a lot of these people.”
Several blocks away at Civic Center, the annual “Salute to the Nation” featured 50 blasts from a 75mm howitzer. After each state’s name was read, soldiers from Colorado’s Army National Guard fired a blank round. The blasts reverberated through downtown.
“I could see the buildings shaking,” Spec. Sean Johnson said. “It’s a fantastic feeling to see so many people come out to celebrate America. … I’d be deaf if I didn’t have these earplugs.”
Some people shuddered and jumped each time. Others were unfazed by the noise and focused more on the symbolism.
“I love being an American,” said Kenric Lull, 18, of Littleton, who leaves this month for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. “It took a lot of courage from a lot of people to fight for our freedom.”
Elsewhere, people made annual pilgrimages to their favorite spots to witness the fireworks. They set up long before the sun set.
For three years, Angelo Valdez of Longmont has staked out the same knoll in Northglenn’s E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park. He arrived about 10 a.m.
Rick Henske of Thornton was there five hours earlier to see the 9:30 p.m. display. His son was one of the people helping shoot off the 1,150 fireworks shells.
Most people had Monday off, but not pyrotechnists.
“It’s one of my hardest work days,” said Todd Tyson of Tri-State Fireworks, who set up Northglenn’s display.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s definitely worth it when you start shooting and hear the crowd over there. I’ve always loved it.”
At a celebration at Four Mile Historic Park in Denver, local officials got the choice parts of a public reading of the Declaration of Independence, including “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” and “Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.”
That left everyday citizens such as Golden’s Jaycee Chinn, a special-education teacher at Clear Creek High School, to list the less-stirring “repeated injuries and usurpations” of King George III.
Chinn said she didn’t mind.
“I was in the spirit of the Fourth,” she said.
Amy Atkinson of Centennial and her daughters Jordyn, 9, and Stella, 6, listened to the reading. But Stella, whose dress resembled an American flag, said getting her face painted was her highest priority.
And so it is, the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of face painting.
