We have the deets for this year’s annual Independence Day celebration in the Inner Harbor.
The fireworks for Baltimore’s July 4 bash, usually the most highly anticipated part of the event, will once again be produced by Pyrotechnico and choreographed to music, according to a release from the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts. They’ll set those off at 9:30 p.m.
The show will be viewable from most harbor neighborhoods, according to BOPA, and should also be pretty clear from the upper floors of high-rise buildings. Those willing to shell out for the best view can buy tickets for the Picnic at the Top, held at the Top of the World Observation Level on the 27th floor of the harbor’s World Trade Center. The price is $50 per adult and $30 per child ages 3-12.
The evening will kick off at 7 p.m. with live music from the U.S. Navy Band Commodores jazz ensemble in the amphitheater at Pratt and Light Streets.
During the daytime, visitors can enjoy tall ships and volleyball. Baltimore Beach Volleyball’s annual Hat Draw tourney, in which teams and singles face off at Rash Field, starts at noon. Registration costs $25 per person in advance or $32 day-of. Proceeds will benefit maritime history-promoting nonprofit Sail Baltimore, which will have four naval ships docked in the harbor from July 3-6.
Ports of America Chesapeake is sponsoring the celebration once again. The company, a subsidiary of Seagirt Marine Terminal operator Ports America Group, saved the day in 2010 when a budget shortfall threatened the festival’s fate, according to the BBJ. The company, which also provides backing for the city’s New Year’s Eve Celebration, has stayed on as the July Fourth event’s chief sponsor for the last seven years.
Other sponsors this year include Compass Cyber Security, Visit Baltimore, GEICO, and Fox45.
With any luck, we won’t see another rainy Fourth reminiscent of last year. If it comes to that, though, BOPA plans to reschedule the fireworks show for July 5.
