Everybody knows that hot dogs taste best on the beach, which is just one more reason Cape Cod is a quintessential destination for a seaside Independence Day. And this year is even more meaningful, with America celebrating its 250th birthday! Check out our Fourth of July on Cape Cod events calendar for a full schedule of patriotic festivities around the Cape. In the meantime, here's a round-up of just some of the ways to show your stripes!
OUTER CAPE
Forty miles out to shining sea, Fourth of July means one thing: whales. Yes, you can savor all the best of small-town America—from homespun parades in Wellfleet and Provincetown to old-fashioned lemonade at the Eastham Schoolhouse Museum—but then you can celebrate with giants. Dolphin Fleet offers an annual fireworks whale watch cruise, where your prime-spot view of the humpbacks is also a prime view of the fireworks over Provincetown Harbor.
LOWER CAPE
If you can’t be in two places at once, you will have to make a tough choice between the hometown parades in Chatham and Orleans. Either is sweetly nostalgic - Chatham's seaside theme is "Seasons of Chatham" - and both towns offer a host of special events around the holiday. In Chatham, the first band concert of the season kicks off Friday, July 3rd at 8 pm. In Orleans, fireworks over Rock Harbor begin Thursday, July 2 at dusk. To catch tomorrow’s stars earning their stripes, the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Harwich Mariners take on the Brewster Whitecaps at 5 pm on July 4th at Whitehouse Field in Harwich. And Gloriæ Dei Cantores presents a "Let Freedom Ring" Concert on Thursday, July 2 at 6 pm at the Church of the Transfiguration in Orleans, celebrating the sacred sounds of America with patriotic music that has lofted through rafters across the country since its founding.
MID-CAPE
Oh say can you see...more than 20 amazing sand sculptures all around town when the annual Sand Sculpture Trail returns to Yarmouth, reminding you that wherever you are on Cape Cod, you’re never far from the shore. In Barnstable, you’re never far from a Fourth of July parade (find a full list of Cape-wide parades here)—you’ll find them in Hyannis, Barnstable Village, Hyannisport, Cotuit and Centerville, not to mention the annual boat parade in Hyannis Harbor, which you can watch from Ocean Street. Afterwards, stroll by the harborside artist shanties, enjoy live music and activities along the Hyannis waterfront, and end the night with a spectacular drone light show over Hyannis Harbor, where hundreds of synchronized drones will light up the sky with stunning animations celebrating America's 250th.
UPPER CAPE
Falmouth is famous for being the hometown of “America the Beautiful” lyricist Katharine Lee Bates, and celebrations across the Upper Cape would make her proud. Start the festivities early in next-door Mashpee, where the annual Mashpee Fireworks and Community Picnic will be held Saturday, June 27 on the lawn of Mashpee Middle-High School. Live music, carnival games, train rides, and local food vendors are all part of the fun. When Independence Day arrives, Falmouth’s spectacular fireworks display (hailed one of the best in the nation) is as picture-perfect as any amber waves of grain. Catch the fireworks at dusk from Falmouth Heights Beach or aboard the Island Queen. Local history buffs will also appreciate the town's Carousel of Light on the grounds of Mullen-Hall School; kids who participate in the carousel's 4th of July Decorated Bike Jamboree get a free token to ride on the hand-carved carousel. Sandwich kicks off its Independence Day celebration on Saturday, June 27 with a live concert by The Moonlighters, followed by fireworks. Other patriotic festivities in the town include an outdoor town band concert on Wednesday, July 1; and a 5k race, parade and fireman’s muster on Saturday, July 4th.
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