More Fireworks! And More Fourth Fun

It's July 4, and that means fireworks and all sorts of patriotic fun!

Mystic Seaport is having a dory race on the Mystic River, starting at 9:45 a.m. At 11, there's a Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Civil War re-enactment. There will be a  children's parade, Silver Cornet Band concert, 19th-century lawn games, a spelling bee and lots of other patriotic ceremonies and activities! Independence Day activities are included in museum admission.

For more info, click here.

In Stonington, The is sponsoring its Annual Independence Day Parade in Stonington Borough. There will be a parade of local dignitaries, and floats, and the Declaration of Independence will be read aloud. 

The events begin at 9:45 a.m., at the southwest corner of in Stonington Borough. After the reading, there will be free ice cream! For more info, click here.

Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury will celebrate with a special 3-D fireworks show over  Lake Quassapaug. You can buy viewing glasses for $1, with the proceeds going to charity. Click here for more information.

If you want to go all the way to Litchfield, or if you're already heading that way, stop by the town's annual Fourth of July fete. Bring your pets (leashe or caged) to the end of the parade route, where the town celebrates with a turn-of-the-century party with sack races, a tug-of-war contest, a seed-spitting competitions and an ice cream social. Click here for more info.

OK, there are no fireworks on the Fourth in Madison, but there's a parade!  You'll find about 100 groups dancing, marching, sitting on floats, driving antique cars and trucks, marching, sincing, and doing who knows what all.

The parade starts at 11 a.m. at Samson Rock Drive, then west on the Boston Post Road, and south at the Madison Country club, before ending at the Surf Club. If your kids love a parade, it's worth the trip!