10 Fun Ways To Celebrate America's 250th With Kids

Hartford Bonanza, the Connecticut capital city's Independence Day festival featuring the region's biggest fireworks display, is a free celebration of community and culture through music, art, civic pride, food trucks, recreation, and creative connections. This year, the festival also serves as the statewide commemoration & celebration of American independence with an epic program on two stages, interactive exhibition spaces, activity zones, and diverse history tours.

What’s more American than baseball? How about "Base Ball" the way it was meant to be played? The Wethersfield Red Onions play according to 19th-century rules, including period-accurate uniforms and no gloves. See the team for free at Wethersfield Cove. The Stonington America 250 Committee also hosts a vintage baseball game on Aug. 1 after the Village Fair, where teams in period uniforms will play by 1864 rules.

Geoff Kaufman, for decades the Foreman of Interpretive Music Programs & Director of Mystic Seaport Museum's annual Sea Music Festival, will delight ARGIA's passengers with music of the waters and sea chanteys. Bring a picnic basket for a unique musical experience under sail.

‍As part of the town-wide "Essex Celebrates America 250" celebrations, and as part of Connecticut Open House Day, Essex Historical Society will host the 5th Connecticut Regiment of Revolutionary War Reenactors on the grounds of Pratt House. ‍Attendance is FREE, open to the public, and appropriate for all ages.

In honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary, the museum is highlighting the theme “Innovation & Ingenuity.” Electric railways transformed American cities and connected communities in new and remarkable ways. Throughout the season, watch the website for special programming and select days offering free or reduced admission.

The 41st annual Boom Box Parade, a time-honored July 4 tradition, will be followed by a large-scale community celebration honoring the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Enjoy live music, interactive history and re-enactments, food, games, contests, special guests, and multimedia presentations.

The town celebrates 250 years of American history with a parade, live music and entertainment, food, races, games, and much more, ending in with a grand finale of fireworks on Sunday night.

The Joseph Carpenter Silversmith Shop was built in 1772, when the Norwichtown Green was the social and commercial center of the town. Appreciate the original walls and the forge of the silversmith, as well as displays of the businesses and craftsmen of Norwichtown. Admission to the Silversmith Shop is $5 per person.

Greenwich will host a signature America 250 celebration when the 160-foot Dutch tall ship Oosterschelde sails into Greenwich Harbor and docks at the Delamar Hotel.  The day will feature a family-friendly celebration at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park featuring free ship boarding and tours, a recreated Colonial Village with costumed Revolutionary-era reenactments, living history encampments, a musical journey through American history, and a salute to veterans.

Come join Wethersfield in the heart of the historic district to honor and remember those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom, America 250 style. After the parade, Webb Deane Stevens' beloved Revolutionary War Encampment joins forces with the Traditional Trades Fair for a free, family-friendly day marking America’s 250th on the museum grounds.