NEW YORK — The nation’s most extravagant display of July 4 fireworks Monday was a triumphant celebration that turned solemn briefly to commemorate the 10-year mark since the Sept. 11 attacks.
Tens of thousands of people from all over the world streamed to Manhattan’s West Side to see the pyrotechnics show over the Hudson River, featuring more than 40,000 shells exploding in choreographed progression.
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“It’s amazing. I’m loving it,” said Rosa Riveras, 57, a health educator from Manhattan, as bursts of light filled the sky.
NBC ran an exclusive broadcast from a pier along the river, with Nick Lachey of the show “The Sing-Off” hosting. Viewers got pre-recorded performances by Beyonce, filmed in front of the Statue of Liberty, and country music star Brad Paisley. Then the fireworks lit up the sky.
Beth Cochran of Scottsdale, Ariz., was with two childhhood friends from Fishkill, N.Y. The three periodically broke into renditions of “God Bless America” and other patriotic songs.”
“We do not take friendship or freedom for granted,” said Cochran. “I’m proud to be an American.”
The show, sponsored by Macy’s, paid tribute to the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty’s debut in New York Harbor. Fireworks blasted off from six barges along the river to heights of 1,000 feet.
As “Amazing Grace” was sung, bursts of golden fireworks lit up the sky to pay tribute to the victims of 9/11. Big cheers broke out during the finale.
Across the country, Americans marked the 235th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with parades, fireworks, barbecues – plus presidential campaigning.
Thousands showed up near the Washington Monument to eagerly await the annual fireworks show on the National Mall, while others were throwing on Hawaiian shirts and shorts to ski the still-snowy slopes at resorts from California to Colorado.
In Boston, the annual Boston Pops concert was a must, and in Akron, Ohio, the Rib, White & Blue Food Festival was enticing.
At the mountaintop home to Thomas Jefferson in Charlottes-ville, Va., officials continued a nearly five-decade-old tradition of swearing in new U.S. citizens. Seventy-seven people took their oaths during a naturalization ceremony at Monticello.
Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama invited troops and their families to attend a special barbecue and USO concert on the South Lawn.
Some of the Republicans hoping to replace Obama in the White House spent part of the day campaigning.
U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota marched in a parade in Clear Lake, Iowa. In New Hampshire, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman both marched in the Amherst parade. Businessman and GOP hopeful Herman Cain skipped the parades but threw out the first pitch at a minor league baseball game in Manchester, N.H.
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