The days are long and the sun is stifling as July begins in Raleigh. Of course, midsummer, in all of its sweltering glory, means the Fourth of July is upon us, bringing with it no shortage of music, food, sports and, of course, fireworks.
Celebrating our nation’s birthday always carries with it the promise of any variation of summertime fun, and so trying to find where to start, especially in the state’s capital, can be a particularly daunting task. Luckily for you readers, this correspondent has made a comprehensive list of the biggest and best Independence festivities for Raleigh 2018.
Runologie will kick things off at 8 am Wednesday morning in Dorothea Dix park with the Keep RLGH Independent 4-miler. Runners will start their day in a truly 4th-of-July fashion by beating the heat in the morning and, if they so choose, ultimately end up at an afterparty with food trucks and beer, with the latter of which provided by Trophy Brewing Co.
For those enticed by 18th-century American historical recreation, the State Capitol from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the 4th is the place to be. Carriage rides, quill writing for children, and Revolutionary era dress up will all be available. At noon, music will be provided by both the Raleigh Concert Band and Wake & District, followed by the naturalization ceremony for new citizens and a reading of the Declaration of Independence. Afterwords, a cutting of the cake will take place at 1 p.m. for our nation’s biggest birthday girl: America. Finally, no event in downtown Raleigh would be complete without food trucks, and this year’s Capitol celebrations will be accompanied by Split Weiner Food Truck and Kona Ice. More details can be found by calling (919) 733-4994.
It’s been one week since since I jumped with glee, because that’s when I found out that Barenaked Ladies are playing at Red Hat Amphitheater at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. As part of their “Last Summer on Earth 2018” tour, the Ladies will be accompanied by openers KT Tunstall and Better than Ezra. This will be the band’s 11th performance in Raleigh and coincides with the recent release of their album “Fake Nudes”. Information and tickets can be found at redhatamphitheater.com.
“I’m actually really excited to see Barenaked Ladies Wednesday,” said Sean Maloney, a former NC State student. “I’ve always been a fan of theirs and, I mean, how would I be able to pass up seeing them on the 4th of July of all days?”
No 4th of July could ever hope to be complete without the inclusion of a grandiose fireworks display, and fortunately Raleigh has big plans to live up to any expectations an excited patriot might have. Anticipating a massive crowd, the City of Raleigh has understandably moved the annual display from downtown to the much more accomodating Carter-Finley fairgrounds. Additionally, the ever-changing Raleigh skyline has made it difficult to see the full scope of the display from any particular spot downtown, and so the move has been made in the best interest of fireworks fans everywhere. The gates for free parking open at 6 p.m. at 1400 Edward Mills Road and the show is expected to begin at 9:30 p.m. Food and drink are encouraged to be brought by spectators, as no food or drink vendors will be on the premises during the event. All areas of the fairground should work well for the show since there is nothing in the skyline to obstruct the view, and all fireworks will be shot from property owned by NC State on Trinity Road.
“It’s great they moved [the fireworks] back to the fairground,” said Andrew Rattanavong of Raleigh. “It’s hard enough trying to get downtown and find parking and all that on a normal day, much less on the 4th of July. Plus, being out in the open where you can have picnics or whatever seems to be more in the spirit of the holiday.”
Independence Day is inherently a time spent with outdoors with food, drinks, music, games, and bright flashing lights. Raleigh’s festivities this year offer no exception and an itinerary planned with any of them is bound to produce lasting midsummer memories.
