FOURTH OF JULY | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

This region is replete with Independence Day celebrations of every stripe starring celebrities, politicians, performers and just folks.

Area residents can get a jump on the hoopla with a patriotic concert and fireworks tonight at Anne Arundel Community College featuring the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra.

The family-friendly event will be held at Siegert Field on the Arnold campus. Gates open at 4 p.m.

Another fireworks display will be held at 9:30 p.m. tomorrow on the grounds of the Severn Christian Church, 8132 New Cut Road in Severn. The church will serve food starting at 4 p.m., with a patriotic "Let Freedom Ring" service at 7 p.m. and then the fireworks.

Glen Burnie

July Fourth fireworks will return to Glen Burnie Thursday for the first time in 12 years.

The Glen Burnie Improvement Association will sponsor a fireworks show at Sawmill Creek Park on Dorsey Road.

Andy Werner has been organizing the $10,000 display for more than a year, coordinating permits from the Federal Aviation Administration, State Highway Administration, Baltimore Washington International Airport, the county Recreation and Parks, county Police Department and state Fire Marshal's Office.

"I'm hoping it goes off without any hitches so that we can keep it going," Mr. Werner said.

The display by Zambelli Fireworks Internationale will begin between 8:45 and 9 p.m. depending on how dark it is. The show will begin no later than 9 p.m and last between 20 and 25 minutes as over 6000 shells light up the sky. Fireworks can be viewed from Sawmill Creek Park or the Third Avenue Park.

Parking will be available in the parking lot of Monsignor Slade Catholic School, 120 Dorsey Road. Overflow parking will be available in the Cromwell Station light rail parking lot. Handicapped parking only will be available at Sawmill Creek Park. County police and reserve officers will direct traffic and assist participants with crossing Dorsey Road.

Participants should bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating. A concession stand will be operated at the Sawmill Creek Park by Glen Burnie Boys Baseball beginning at 6 p.m. Hot dogs, hamburgers, snowballs and sodas will be sold.

Boy Scout Troop 873 will help clean up afterwards.

For more information, call the GBIA at 410-766-6760.

Fort Meade

Fort George G. Meade will again hold a day-long celebration on the Fourth of July celebration.

Gates open at the Fort Meade Parade Field at 1 p.m. Bring blankets and coolers for picnicking but grills and pets are forbidden. You must show a photo ID to enter. Use the Reece Road entrance off Route 175.

Once again this year, there will be a play area for children with rides and games. There also will be food and novelty vendors. The day's festivities cumulate at 9:30 p.m. with a fireworks display.

For additional details and inclement weather information, go to www.ftmeademwr.com

Severna Park

Severna Park has had one of the bigger parades in the area, going strong since 1975.

The parade begins at 10 a.m. on July Fourth. The parade, which has its first-ever corporate sponsor, local business Dynasplint, begins at St. Martin's-in-the-Field and Our Shepherd Lutheran Churches on Benfield Road and winds its way over to a festival on the grounds of Cypress Creek Park.

More than 80 units, including marching bands, floats, dance groups, Scouts and musicians on wheels, are expected to participate.

At Cypress Park, Gary Wright and Leah Weiss will perform American music, complemented by square dancers. There will be a softball match pitting Severna Parks' finest players against a team from the Broadneck Peninsula. Several riders and horses will present barrel racing demonstrations. There also will be a herd of miniature riding horses.

If the temperature is mild, Kinderfarm will bring some agricultural critters over for a Petting Zoo. For more information, call 410-647-3900.

Baltimore

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. July Fourth, street performers will entertain at the HarborPlace Amphitheater in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, located at Light and Pratt streets. A cappella performers Smooth Teaze perform from 3 to 5:30 p.m., followed, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., by Uptown East, a group with a Top 40s sound. At 8:30 p.m., the Naval Academy Band performs - a sort of apertif before a magnificent fireworks display created by Zambelli.

The fireworks can easily be viewed downtown, and points farther out including Federal Hill, Fell's Point, Rash Field and Canton. For more information, call 410-752-8632.

Annapolis

The Independence Day Parade begins at 6:30 p.m. as marchers, bands and floats step off Amos Garrett Boulevard onto West Street, heading towards Church Circle. The parade then flows down Main Street and ends in front of the Market House at City Dock.

In Susan Campbell Park at the end of City Dock, the Naval Academy Band's Electric Brigade swings into a bravura performance of patriotic and classic tunes at 8 p.m. Admission is free; bring your own lawn chairs.

The performance will be followed by fireworks over the harbor at 9:15 p.m. The fireworks will be launched from a barge off the academy's seawall.

For those who plan to see the fireworks from their boat, check for boating restrictions.

On land, the prime viewing spots include the Naval Academy, the end of City Dock and street-end parks in Eastport. Don't forget the Spa Creek Bridge, but you'll have to grab a spot early.

If you plan to watch the fireworks from the academy, you must go through security. Bring a photo ID and lawn chairs, but leave backpacks, coolers and pets at home.

City officials urge you to park at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Use Gate 5 on Taylor Avenue. Parking costs $5 starting at 3 p.m. The city will run a free, round-trip shuttle from the stadium parking lot to Lawyers Mall from 4 p.m. to midnight.

For details on the celebration, visit www.annapolis.gov or call 410-263-1183.

Ocean City

If miles and miles of wide, white sandy beaches weren't enough, Ocean City is having a long weekend par-tay, culminating at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 6, with a Beach Boys concert at the Convention Center on 40th Street. For the $50 or $35 tickets, visit www.ticketmaster.com or call 800-551-7328.

On the Fourth of July, the fun begins with a free, patriotic concert on the beach at North Division Street and the beach at 8 p.m. Fireworks follow the performance.

And for those living in northern Ocean City, there will be a free, day-long jamboree at Northside Park on 127th Street starting at 11 a.m. and ending with a fireworks display at about 9:30 p.m.

With limited parking at both locations, Ocean City officials are urging visitors to take the bus for just $1.

For info, call 800-626-2326.

Washington, D.C.

The massive Washington, D.C., Independence Day Parade starts at 11:45 a.m. at Constitution Avenue and 7th Street N.W.

It includes 25 marching bands, military and specialty units, 15 floats, giant balloons and lots of VIPs.

During the day, you can also visit the 42nd Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the Mall from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Later on, listen to a free, 90-minute concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capital, spotlighting Grammy-Award-winning Huey Lewis & The News, "American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks, rock 'n' roll super-legend Jerry Lee Lewis, classical superstar Hayley Westenra, Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell, soprano Harolyn Blackwell and the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erich Kunzel. The "1812 Overture" is concluded with real cannon fire.

The fireworks near the Washington Monument will begin at 9:20 p.m. and can be seen clearly all the way down the Mall, and across the Potomac in Rosslyn, Arlington and Alexandria.

For information about all the Fourth of July events in Washington, D.C., call 202-357-5000 or visit www.washington.org

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Maryland Gazette Columnist Kathleen Shatt contributed to this story.

Where to see fireworks

Here is a list of local and regional fireworks displays, some of which are restricted to the private communities sponsoring them. Some private displays, however, can be seen from aboard your boat.

Annapolis: About 9:15 p.m. July 4th. Rain date: July 5.

Arnold: Dusk tonight at AACC's Siegert Field. Rain date: tomorrow.

Baltimore, Inner Harbor: 9:30 p.m. July 4th.

Bowie, Allen Pond Park: Darkness July 4th.

Chesapeake Beach: Dusk on Thursday.

Chester, Chesapeake Exploration Center: Dusk on Thursday. Rain date: July 5.

Chestertown, off Wilmer Park: 9 p.m. July 4th.

Fort George G. Meade, Parade Field: 9:30 p.m. July 4th.

Glen Burnie: Sawmill Creek Park. 9 p.m. Thursday.

Gibson Island: 9 p.m. July 4th.

Herrington Harbour South Marina, Friendship: Dusk July 5.

Ocean City, Northside Park, 127th Street: 9:30 p.m. July 4th.

Ocean City, on the beach at North Division Street: 9:30 p.m. July 4th.

North Beach: Dusk July 3.

Prince George's Stadium, Bowie: July 4th after the Bowie Baysox game.

Rock Hall: Dusk July 3.

Severn Christian Church, 8132 New Cut Road, Severn: 9:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Sherwood Forest: Dusk Thursday.

Six Flags America, Largo: Evening of July 4th (requires park admission).

Solomon's Island: Dusk July 4th.

South River, across from Quiet Waters Park: 9 p.m. July 12. Private fund-raiser to honor Sandy Lofgren-Sargent's late son, Rick.

Washington, D.C.: Washington Monument grounds: 9:20 p.m. July 4th.