Thursday, August 19, 2010

The 4th of July in Washington, DC

The Independence Day celebration in Washington, DC is always a big event, as you might expect in the nation's capital. Numerous events are held in and around the National Mall, including a parade, the Smithsonian's Folklife Festival, musical entertainment, and fireworks.


I went into DC last month with the intent of sampling all of these events and taking pictures of the fireworks. I only lasted through the late afternoon due to the heat, but I'll start with the photos of the fireworks I took last year.

Fireworks on the National Mall
The yearly fireworks on the Fourth of July explode across the sky with the monuments and government buildings providing a dramatic backdrop.


I know some people who always watch them from one of the bridges across the Potomac River, walking across from the Virginia side, but in 2009 I watched them from the Library of Congress and the back side of the US Capitol Building.



From that vantage point the fireworks are framed by the Capitol and the Washington Monument. It's not as difficult to find a place to watch as down on the Mall itself, where people start staking out spots by early afternoon.


July in Washington is usually swelteringly hot, and I saw some people who had brought chairs and umbrellas to wait on the Mall for the concerts.

The Independence Day Parade
Because the Smithsonian Metro station on the Mall itself is closed for security reasons on the 4th of July, in order to visit the museums on that day you have to walk in from one of the neighboring stops. I chose to walk in from Federal Triangle this year.


I immediately ran smack dab into the crowd watching the Independence Day Parade on Constitution Avenue. I stayed for a while watching the parade in front of the Museum of American History, but because the street was barricaded off I had trouble finding a place to cross.

I walked east toward the Capitol and was funneled into a slow moving line. The problem was that a fence jammed the crowd up against a barrier there, and the opening at the end was blocked by people waiting for permission to cross the street across the parade route.

When I reached the end I took a few pictures of the Bolivian dance group Pachamama, who were amazingly energetic on a 100-degree day in their heavy, colorful costumes.



The Smithsonian Folklife Festival
I finally reached the Folklife Festival, which this year focused on Asia, México, and Smithsonian research.






Air Conditioning Is Nice
One nice feature is that with so many museums clustered in this area, when I got hot I was able to duck into American History to wander through the exhibits in the air conditioning, though the lines were too long at my original objective, the Lincoln exhibit.



Getting There
I like taking Metro into DC but I'd forgotten about the security restrictions and the closure of the Smithsonian stop. Then by choosing to come from the north side I had difficulty crossing Constitution Avenue because of the fencing hemming in the sidewalks and the parade route.

Metro is still a good option, but requires a little more planning on the day of a special event on the Mall.


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