Celebrate Our Independence:_Options For Americans Of All Ages

BY SHANNON HICKS

The highlight of the year for the red, white, and blue is Independence Day. July 4 is set aside as the day to observe the birth of America with all flags, banners, and bunting flying.

The Declaration of Independence, unanimously declared by the 13 United States of America, was adopted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. The task of getting the document signed began on August 2, 1776. The parties and observations have continued ever since.

In Newtown the annual St Rose Parish Carnival begins on Tuesday, July 2, and will continue until July 6 on the church’s grounds on Church Hill Road. The carnival offers rides, games, live entertainment, and nightly specials beginning at 6; Bingo in the parish hall starts at 7 every night. The carnival will run until 10 pm Tuesday through Thursday, and until 11 on Friday and Saturday.

Surrounding towns will be getting into the spirit of Independence Day with fireworks displays and other events. Some suggestions follow:

Through July 7 — Straits Carnival has set up shop at Danbury Fair Mall and will be on site until Sunday, July 7, with rides, food and more. The carnival will be opening at 5 every week day, and at noon each Saturday and Sunday.

June 29 — Annual Barnum Festival Fireworks Display will begin at dusk, with music simulcast on STAR 99.9 radio. The fireworks will be set off from Seaside Park, 1 Park Avenue.

(A Fireworks Skyblast Party, one of the events of the Barnum Festival, will begin at 7 pm at Seaside Park. For $40, attendees can watch the fireworks from the Seaside Park Bathhouse while enjoying a buffet, beverages and music hosted by a DJ. Visit www.BarnumFestival.com for reservations and details.)

June 29 — Greater Bridgeport Symphony Annual Pops Concert will take place on the front lawn of Fairfield University’s Bellarmine Hall, North Benson Road. Admission to the 8 pm concert is free. It will feature 50 members of GBS performing patriotic tunes, Broadway and opera favorites, light classics and popular songs. Call 203-576-0263 for additional information.

June 29 — Danbury Fireworks (rain date June 20) will be shot from Hatters Park/Danbury Town Park, on Hayestown Avenue. Shuttle service will be available from the Department of Motor Vehicles parking lot. Fireworks will begin at 9 pm. Call 797-4511 for details.

June 30 — The Great Street Parade, Bridgeport. The culmination of the 2002 Barnum Festival promises “more bands and floats and color and excitement than you can imagine.” This annual happening is the second largest parade in New England. It steps off from the intersection of North, Clinton and Brooklawn avenues at 9:30 am.

July 2 — Musicals at Richter will offer “Richter Under the Stars and Stripes Forever,” a patriotically-themed cabaret show planned for 8:30 featuring Richter stars of past and present. The theater is at 100 Aunt Hack Road, next to Richter Golf Course. Grounds will open at 7:15 for picnics, and admission is $8. For reservations and further information, call Musicals at Richter box office at 748-6873 or visit the Richter website at www.MusicalsAtRichter.org.

July 4 — New Fairfield Lions Club will sponsor the 20th Annual New Fairfield Independence Day Parade, which will begin at 9:30 am. The route will run right into and through the middle of town, turning onto Brush Hill Road and heading to Memorial Field, which will be dedicated in honor of World War II veterans immediately following the parade.

July 4 — Conductor Skitch Henderson returns with The New York Pops to Ives Concert Park in Danbury for “America the Beautiful: The Pops & Fireworks Concert.” Showtime is 7:30, and tickets are $51 for reserved seats, $26 on the lawn for adults, $11 children on the lawn, and free for children ages 2 and under on the lawn. Tickets purchased at the gate will be $3 costlier. Call 837-9226 or 744-8100 for reservations.

The performance will include readings by Ira Joe Fisher from America the Beautiful: The Stirring True Story Behind Our Nation’s Favorite Song, and a color guard will accompany the orchestra on the stage.

July 4 — US Coast Guard Band will perform a full-scale military concert with favorite patriotic and show tunes at Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts, Jesup Road in Westport. Showtime is 8 pm, and admission is free. Call 203-226-7600 for details.

July 4 — Middlebury’s 40th Annual Fireworks Display will be presented at Quassy Amusement Park, Route 64 in Middlebury. Showtime is 10:15 but the park will be open all day for anyone who wants to arrive early. Picnics are welcome. Admission is $5 per car; rides and food at the park itself are extra. Call 800-FOR-PARK (367-7275) or 203-758-2913 or visit www.quassy.com for details.

July 5 — Annual Danbury Fair Mall Fireworks. Arrive early to get a good parking spot, have a tailgate party or enjoy a meal inside at the food court. Showtime is 9 pm. The Straits Carnival (see listing above) continues on Friday, also.

July 6 — New Milford Parade & Fireworks. There will be a parade and concert on and around New Milford Green at 4, followed by the fireworks at dusk. Organizers say the fireworks will be best viewed across the river from Youngs Field Road; park at New Milford Train Station. Rain date is July 7.