If you live in the Houston area, you can be sure of finding plenty of places to celebrate the Fourth of July in grand style. Dickinson, Texas may be a bit far from the city center, but it’s still in easy driving distance of every festival and fireworks show you might want to attend.
Freedom Over Texas
The most obvious celebration would have to be Freedom Over Texas, the Independence Day festival sponsored by the City of Houston itself. The festival kicks off at 4 p.m. and goes on until well after dark, and it features appearances by country stars and other live musicians, family games, rides, face painting, and a rest station for when you need to take a break. The fireworks display is as big as you’d expect from a major city, and it’s set to music.
Freedom Over Texas takes over the Eleanor Tinsley Park. Ticket prices depend on when you buy them but don’t go over $10 at the gate.
Summer Symphony Nights: Star-Spangled Salute!
Around four miles away from Eleanor Tinsley Park is the Miller Outdoor Theatre located in Hermann Park. Every year, the Houston Symphony puts on a series of outdoor shows that are free to the public, and they always end it with the Star-Spangled Salute! show on July 4. Starting at 8:30 p.m., the symphony plays patriotic classics with a list that changes every year, but the night always ends with the 1812 Overture complete with cannon blasts and fireworks.
Free theater seats are available from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. the day of the event, but you can always sit on the hill behind the seats if you don’t get a ticket.
The Friendswood Celebration
If you don’t want to drive all the way to the Houston city center, Friendswood celebrates Independence Day in style with a big parade and daytime events starting at 10 a.m. and ending at 3:30 p.m. The nighttime celebration starts at 7:30 p.m. at Centennial Park and features live music right up until the fireworks display at 9:20 p.m. Attendance at both events is free, but you can get a $10 wristband for unlimited free rides or pay $15 for an all-day pass.
Red, Hot, and Blue Festival
If you feel like driving around Houston, the Red, Hot, and Blue Festival is how The Woodlands celebrates the Fourth. The festival opens at 6 p.m. in Town Green Park and Waterway Square, although if you get there by 9 a.m. you can watch The Woodlands’ parade. The free festival offers good food, activities for kids, and several stages, but the big draw would have to be the 20-minute fireworks display that ends the night.
It’s not hard to have fun on Independence Day when you live in the greater Dallas area, and so the real hard choice is figuring out which of the many events you want to attend. Fortunately, July 4 comes every year, and so if you don’t go to one celebration this year, you can always take a look next time.
This photo, “Fireworks,” by Amir Kbah used under CC BY-ND 2.0. “Fireworks” is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0 by Gay Family Kia.
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