News: Fourth of July on Long Island
(Long Island, N.Y.) Many Long Island beaches and venues went to great lengths to celebrate America’s two-hundred-and-thirty-fifth birthday. The North Shore’s Sunken Meadow State Park was filled to capacity with those celebrating the national holiday. The park, maxed out with twenty-five-thousand people, had to be reopened once it emptied out and new visitors were later admitted.
Long Island beachgoers relied on the South Shore for this year’s Fourth of July festivities as Jones Beach remained open throughout the holiday. Eisenhower Park was also a hotspot for those wishing to celebrate. Many Long Island residents and visitors brought items and supplies for private barbeques.
Everything from hotdogs, burgers, steaks, chicken, and ribs were among the favorite dishes grilled by locals at the park. Some claimed to have created a special method of seasoning in correlation with the nation’s birthday. A few of the celebration’s chefs stated that they were preparing to feed about a hundred people.
For those Long Islanders who missed out on this year’s festivities, a fireworks display is scheduled for Friday July 8th in Long Beach. The location of the display will be between Long Beach Boulevard and Riverside Boulevard and large crowds are expected to be in attendance. Another fireworks display has been scheduled in Montauk to celebrate this year’s national holiday.
A Fourth of July parade was scheduled in Port Jefferson between ten and noon and reports stated that Jones Beach cancelled its yearly fireworks show. Nevertheless, those Long Islanders desperate for fireworks can get their fix on Saturday July 9th at Shelter Island‘s Crescent Beach. The extravaganza begins at nine that evening.
For those Long Islanders yearning for a little bit of history amidst their holiday celebrations, Huntington officials will be putting together a free Independence Day re-enactment on July 17th. The event will be between noon and five in the evening and depict actual events that took place on Huntington‘s Village Green in the middle of July in 1776 as the Declaration of Independence was read to the public.
A similar event was scheduled at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay where the National Historic Site of the former twenty-sixth president Teddy Roosevelt once lived. The area hosts a free Fourth of July Celebration equipped with arts and crafts for kids, patriotic music, and a speech from a Roosevelt impersonator and look-a-like. The mansion and surrounding area also showcases a Rough Rider re-enactment.
The Town of Islip held an event for the holiday at the Bay Shore Marina, lighting fireworks across the Great South Bay. A parade was scheduled in Wantagh and showcased different floats and bands with a destination at a local elementary school. These events illustrated how celebrations have increased though the years, and most Long Islanders would be astonished to know that in 1776 the country’s population was estimated at 2.5 million.
