July 4th Weekends in Boston – 2012

July 4th is this Wednesday and if you are lucky you may be able to make a super long weekend of either the this weekend or next week.  There is always plenty to do in the Boston area for Independence Day celebrations but this year Boston has definitely upgraded many of the options.

Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular

Michael Chiklis will be back hosting the event with the featured performer being none other than Jennifer Hudson.  This annual tradition is nationally renowned and takes place on the Esplanade on the Charles River.  Keith Lockhart of course will head up the Boston Pops.

Though views of the concert events in the HatchShell do require planning on how you are going to stake out your turf on the Charles, the fireworks can be seen as far away as across the river in Cambridge along Memorial Drive.  As the website mentions if you have kids Beach Blanket real estate matters as well as planning how you will be occupying their day.

If you can’t make a day of it and can’t make it to the event WBZ-TV Channel 4 airs the events from 8 – 11pm.  More information can be found on the official website for the event July4th.org.  They also offer a downloadable program.

Boston Harborfest – Tall Ships

This weekend the Tall Ships are in town as part of the many HarborFest activities that started yesterday and end on July 4th.  My family and I are going in to see the ships which will be coming in from Deer Island.  Castle Island in South Boston will be probably the best option for viewing them as they come in but they will also have viewing hours for the ships at the various ports including Fan Pier and the CharlesTown Navy Yard.  More details on the where you can see the tall ships as well as the schedule can be found on the OpsSail.org website.

There are a host of other activities that are part of the Boston Harborfest 2012 schedule including events at the Old State House that include a reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th at 10am.

Faneuil Hall

Worth checking out if you are in that area of Boston is the new Faneuil Hall which recently reopened with an updated Tourism center and layout that make it easier to see many more of the things you can do in the Boston area.  Things like the Freedom Trail are spotlighted.  As an official visitor center for Boston it is a great stop.  We recently visited it and took the opportunity to see the Great Hall upstairs which was open for viewing.  You can breathe the history in the air.  We have quite a few pictures from our trip there which we hope to make available on this website soon.

Boston Waterfront Activities

There has been a lot of press regarding all the work that has been done on the Boston Waterfront.  This summer to increase visibility to the organizations and locations that make up this updated and upgraded section of Boston they have put together a website to highlight events this summer.  The website SummerOnTheWaterFront.org includes a calendar of events for:

• The Institute of Contemporary Art
• Boston Children’s Museum
• New England Aquarium
• USS Constitution Museum
• Boston Harbor Alliance
• Boston National Historic Park
• Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
• Boston HarborWalk

These are definitely worth putting on your list not just for this week but for the summer.  There is sooo much to do!

Boston Tea Party Museum

This museum was recently opened and brings to life the one of the events that Boston is so famous for.  The Boston Tea Party was a symbol of the discontent of the colonists which led to Revolution.  There is much more to learn and experience about this famous event.  More information including events as part of Independence Day Celebrations at the official website for the Boston Tea Party Museum.

Here is the video of the recent Grand Opening:

This article doesn’t even cover all the things you can do in Boston this summer.  There is no excuse not to get out and celebrate not just American Independence but the vibrant city of Boston!