Harrisburg's Independence Day Celebration is an annual

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

and

food festival A food festival is a festival, that uses food, often produce, as its central theme. These festivals have always been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season. History Food ...

that takes place in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

weekend. It is the state's largest Independence Day weekend music festival. Festivities take place along Riverfront Park and City Island and consist of street concerts, food and craft vendors, a wine/beer garden,

amusement rides Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people especially kids to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This ...

and a large

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

display.

Name changes

The festival's name has changed across the years, from "The Harrisburg Independence Weekend Festival" to "American MusicFest" in 1999, to "Harrisburg Jazz & Multi-Cultural Festival" by Mayor Linda D. Thompson in 2010, then "Harrisburg's Fourth of July Celebration" in 2013 under Mayor

Eric Papenfuse Eric Robert Papenfuse (born September 4, 1971) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 38th Mayor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Papenfuse is the founder and co-owner with his wife of The Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg, ...

, "Harrisburg Independence Weekend Walkaround" for 2014, and finally Harrisburg's "Taste of Independence" from 2015, where it became a

food truck A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van) or trailer, equipped to cook, prepare, serve, and/or sell food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare food from scratc ...

festival. The 2020 celebration was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, but the fireworks show was still presented. The event returned in 2021 for one day as "July 4th Food Trucks & Fireworks."

References

External links

Harrisburg Special Events
Culture of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Music festivals in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania {{Harrisburg, Pennsylvania