Portland’s Munjoy Hill will be alive with the sights and sounds of Independence Day next week, but to a lesser degree than in previous years.

Festivities kick off at 9:30 a.m. at Fort Sumner Park on North Street with a public reading of the Declaration of Independence by historian and former state representative Herb Adams and a song by Laura Cowie.

“This is the 245th anniversary of the Declaration, and what better place for families to remember it than on Portland’s highest hill with the best views?” said Jaye Gorham, president of Friends of Fort Sumner, which is sponsoring the free event.

Adams also typically reads the Declaration of Independence outside the Maine Historical Society’s Longfellow House, but Kathleen Neumann, the society’s director of education and public programming, said a reading won’t be held this year because Maine Historical Society is still not hosting live programming due to the pandemic.

The city’s fireworks show is back after being canceled last year and is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. Missing that evening from the Eastern Promenade, because of the pandemic, will be the traditional performance by the Portland Symphony Orchestra and the large gathering of food trucks.

The rain date for the fireworks is July 5.

The Eastern Promenade Trail from Cutter Street to the Portland Water District Wastewater Treatment Plant will be closed on July 4 from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

All streets on Munjoy Hill from Washington Avenue to the Eastern Promenade will be closed to traffic starting at 6:30 p.m.

The fireworks will be viewable from other locations across the city, such as East End Beach, Fort Allen Park, Amethyst Park, Baxter Boulevard, Payson Park and Martin’s Point, as well as from Bug Light in South Portland.

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