Fireworks, parades and live entertainment are just a few of the ways locals celebrate the birth of the nation in Grand Rapids. This year marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and we’re proud to be taking part in the nation’s America250 (A250) festivities.
July 4th is a Saturday this year, so we’ll be celebrating all weekend long. Join us as we pause and reflect on our nation’s past, honor the contributions of all Americans, and look ahead toward the future we want to create for the next generation and beyond!
GR A250
GR A250 is how Grand Rapidians are participating in America’s year-long 250th anniversary celebration. GR A250 includes two big July 4th weekend events:
Grand Rapids Symphony presents Picnic Pops: Happy Birthday, America, featuring patriotic music by Aaron Copland, Duke Ellington, John Williams and more, at the new Acrisure Amphitheater on July 4. Pack a picnic and enjoy this affordable, family-friendly concert experience. Stick around the amphitheater after the concert for great views of the city’s July 4th Fireworks.
GR Foodie Fest is a three-day outdoor celebration showcasing local flavors, cultures and creativity, with 40+ food trucks and vendors, live entertainment and family-friendly activities. It’s a great opportunity to come together over food, music and shared experience. July 3-5 in Calder Plaza.
GR A250 events continue throughout the year – check out the schedule and other ways to observe America’s Semiquincentennial.
July 4th Fireworks
The Annual Grand Rapids Independence Day Fireworks Show is always the city’s biggest patriotic celebration! The event kicks off at 6pm on July 4, with family-fun activities, games, food, vendors and live entertainment leading up to spectacular fireworks show at 10:30pm. Downtown’s Ah-Nab-Awen Park, the traditional site of the celebration, is closed this year – a new site will be announced shortly.
Multiple downtown parks and bridges offer great (free!) views of the Grand Rapids fireworks. So do the riverfront Amway Grand Plaza and JW Marriot hotels – check in for the night and enjoy the bursts and booms from the comfort of your room.
The West Michigan Whitecaps baseball team hosts post-game fireworks in LMCU Ballpark on July 3 and 4, when they play the Lake County Captains.
Berlin Raceway, one of America’s premier short-track stock-car courses, presents a fireworks show after its July 4 races.
Spending the day at the Lake Michigan shore? Saugatuck-Douglas and South Haven light up the night on July 3; Grand Haven, Holland and Muskegon on July 4.
Community Events
Many suburban cities celebrate the holiday with their own fireworks shows as well as parades, carnivals and more:
Caledonia hosts a parade at 11am and fireworks at dusk. July 4.
Ada offers a day full of festivities, including a pancake breakfast, children’s bike parade, main parade, float competition, classic car show, children’s activities, live music and fireworks at dusk. July 4.
The Allendale Fourth of July Celebration features a 10am parade, activities in Allendale Township Park from 11am-2pm and fireworks starting at 10:15pm. July 4.
The Cascade Township Independence Day Celebration starts with an 8:30 am bike parade, which is followed by a community parade and a festival in Friendship Park featuring inflatables, food trucks, live music, crafts and more.
East Grand Rapids kicks off July 4 with a noon parade, followed by kids’ activities, food trucks and a water ski show on Reeds Lake. The celebration ramps up with live music from 8 ‘til dusk, when the fireworks begin. July 4.
Grandville’s Independence Day Celebration includes a parade, arts & crafts show, food vendors, kid’s activities, live music and fireworks. July 4.
The Kentwood 4th of July Celebration starts with a pancake breakfast and extends throughout the day with a 5k race/fun walk, parade, carnival, food trucks, a beer tent, live music and fireworks. July 4.
Ottawa Hills hosts its 92nd Annual Hollyhock Lane Parade – the oldest Independence Day parade in Michigan – on July 4 at 8:30am.
American History Exhibits
Visit the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum throughout the July 4th weekend for three fascinating exhibits:
• Waltzing with the Queen: President Ford and Anglo-American Special Relationship explores Ford’s diplomacy through engaging stories and one-of-a-kind artifacts.
• Opening the Vault: The Northwest Ordinance is a rare opportunity to view and learn about a document that helped shape the ideals and values of the young nation.
• The American Eagle showcases many bald eagle-themed gifts President Ford was given during the nation’s Bicentennial celebration 50 years ago (1976).
The Spirit of Independence: Artists’ Reflection on Freedom is a Grand Rapids Art Museum exhibition featuring works created around the 1976 Bicentennial, inviting us to reflect on how independence is renewed, expanded and defended be every generation. GRAM is open July 3 (Friday) and July 5(Sunday).
AIM High: Soaring with the Tuskegee Airmen at the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum explores multiple aspects of aviation, including the rich history of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American pilots to serve in the U.S. military. The museum is open July 3 (Friday) and July 5(Sunday).
We the People: The Roots of Belonging and We the People: Voices of Holland are complementary exhibits at Zeeland’s Dekker-Huis Museum (about 25 minutes from downtown GR) and Holland Museum (33 minutes away). Both exhibits encourage reflection on how every generation has contributed to the American story and continue to help shape Michigan today. The Dekker-Huis Museum is open Friday, July 3 and the Holland Museum is open Friday and Sunday. (July 3 & 5).
More July 4th Weekend Fun
It’s a long weekend of summer fun in Grand Rapids – enhance your parade-and-fireworks itinerary with these grand events:
Experience CHIHULY at Meijer Gardens, which transforms both beautiful outdoor gardens and inviting indoor sculpture galleries with the world-renowned artwork of Dale Chihuly. Meijer Gardens is open throughout the weekend.
Travel back to Paris circa 1880-1910 via the Grand Rapids Art Museum’s Decadent Spirit: French Art at the Turn of the Century, which highlights the extraordinary aesthetic ingenuity of the moment. GRAM is open July 3 & 5.
Celebrate Independence Day with some of the nation’s finest furred and feathered citizens at John Ball Zoo, Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park and Deer Tracks Junction – all three are open throughout the weekend.
Explore Backyard Adventures, designed for children ages 5-12, and Unseen Oceans, offering fun for the whole family, at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The Museum is open July 3 & 5.
https://www.grpm.org/unseen-oceans/
Discover the beauty of authentic Baltic traditions through the Latvian Song & Dance Festival – it’s five days of concerts, art exhibits, marketplaces and more around downtown GR. July 1-5.
See “Weird Al” Yankovic in concert July 3 and Jack Johnson performing live on stage July 5 – both at downtown GR’s new Acrisure Amphitheater.
Head to Riverside Park for another weekly Food Truck Friday featuring the best local street foods as well as a beer tent and live music. July 3.
Enjoy an adults-only celebration at the Red White & Blue Bar Crawl, which will be packed with patriotic energy, festive vibes and unforgettable drink specials to celebrate the holiday. July 4.
Get in touch with nature this weekend: hike, bike, swim, paddle, fish and golf in our Grand Outdoors. Soak up the sun at the Millennium Park Beach, just five minutes from downtown GR, or take a day trip to a Lake Michigan beach, 30-45 minutes from town.
Beat the heat with a trip to the area’s best ice cream and frozen yogurt shops. Savor a tall cold one at a local brewery or a refreshing adult beverage at a cocktail bar. Visit the city’s best burger spots and hot dog joints for quintessential July 4th favorites. Planning a backyard barbecue or picnic in the park? Get all the fixings for your feast at the Grand Rapids Downtown Market, open all weekend, and Fulton Street Market, open Friday & Saturday from 8am-2pm.
Staying beyond the 4th of July weekend? Visit our Events Calendar to find things to do and see every day of your visit!
