By Isabell Macrina
Hometown Weekly Staff
In celebration of America’s 250th Birthday, the Needham Exchange Club held their annual 4th of July celebration at Memorial Field the night before. People flocked there early with blankets and chairs to claim spots for the best view of the fireworks, but there were many other things to keep the day alive, despite reaching nearly 100 degrees.
The parking lot by Memorial field held tents with the classic fourth of July food, from burgers and hot dogs to chips, popcorn, and snow cones and ice cream to beat the heat. They also set up a misting tent so people could run under the spraying water to cool down. The Needham Rockets from the high school team also sold snacks to support their sports teams. Needham Police Department set up tents to sell noisemakers, a family reunification tent, and one to share the merchandise of their K9 program, complete with stuffed animal versions of some of them. The NEC tent sold USA-themed beach balls, shirts, hats, and everything you need to celebrate national pride.
To celebrate 250 years of the United States of America, the NEC set up 26 flags along the field showing the different iterations of the national flag, from the union jack of 1776 to the latest flag with all fifty stars, after Hawaii and Alaska were claimed as states. Each had a little information card detailing what changed between the flags.
Kids threw the balls back and forth, some had squirt guns that turned the field into a battlefield. Under the gazebo, they could get their faces painted with a series of stars or stripes to celebrate. There was no end of entertainment and enjoyment to be had, including the concert performed by The Reminisants, who have been playing this event for 40 years. They specialize in oldies, country, and some classic rock that had the crowd singing along, and by the end of the night there was a crowd dancing in front of the stage.
The night ended with the annual fireworks show in front of the high school, and this year was their biggest show ever. The fireworks went off into the night, whistling in the air and exploding into clouds of color that had the crowd cheering in awe. The community came together to celebrate the anniversary of independence for the USA, but also to celebrate how far we’ve come.
