Fourth of July 2013

Friday, July 5, 2013

Fireworks lit up the sky above cities and towns across the U.S. in July Fourth celebrations Thursday. The shows followed a day of parades, concerts, and in New York City, the reopening of the Statue of Liberty, which had been shuttered by Superstorm Sandy. Here's a gallery of images from Independence Day preparations and celebrations.

Fireworks explode over Lake Union during the Seafair Summer Fourth event Thursday, July 4, 2013, as seen from Gas Works Park in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/seattlepi.com, Jordan Stead)
Fireworks explode over the Philadelphia Museum of Art during an Independence Day celebration, Thursday, July 4, 2013, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Fireworks light up the Empire State Building along the Manhattan skyline during Macy's 37th Annual Fourth of July fireworks show, Thursday, July 4, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Fireworks light the sky over the U.S. Capitol, left, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial during Fourth of July celebrations, Thursday, July 4, 2013 in Washington. Surrounded by scaffolding, the Washington Monument is closed for repairs after an earthquake in 2011. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Scott Webb, of Waldorf, Md., celebrates during the finale of the Boston Pops Fourth of July Concert at the Hatch Shell in Boston, Thursday, July 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Patrick Ardis, 10, gets a high-five from his friend Porter Rosenberg, 10, left, while riding in the Cordova Independence Day Parade at the Cordova Community Center in Cordova, Tenn., on Thursday, July 4, 2013. (AP Photo/The Commercial Appeal, Jim Weber)
Visitors to the Statue of Liberty disembark onto Liberty Island from the first ferry to leave Manhattan, Thursday, July 4, 2013, in New York. The Statue of Liberty finally reopened on the Fourth of July months after Superstorm Sandy swamped its little island in New York Harbor as Americans across the country marked the holiday with fireworks and barbecues. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
People line North State Street while watching a row of tractors in the Annual Millville Independence Day Parade, Thursday, July 4, 2013, in Millville, Pa. (AP Photo/Bloomsburg Press Enterprise, Jimmy May)
Joey Chestnut, six time winner of the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating contest, is carried to the competition stage through a crowd of fans, Thursday, July 4, 2013 at Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Sonya Thomas competes in the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating contest at Coney Island, Thursday, July 4, 2013, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Thomas won the competition with 36 and three quarters hot dogs and buns. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Lifeguards work as sunbathers lay out on a foggy beach Wednesday, July 3, 2013, in Belmar, N.J., ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Bobby Patton, left, poses for a photo with his wife Ashton Patton during the Fourth of July celebration at Pioneer Park, Thursday, July 4, 2013 in Prescott, Ariz. On a day meant to ponder the nation's birth, and those who built and defended it over 237 years, Prescott's residents had 19 of their neighbors, their friends, their relatives to remember. Nineteen Granite Mountain Hotshot firefighters were killed Sunday by an out-of-control blaze near Yarnell, Ariz. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Tete Scott walks home after an Independence Day celebration, Thursday, July 4, 2013, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Fireworks explode over the Savannah River during the annual Independence Day celebration Thursday, July 4, 2013, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Savannah Morning News, Richard Burkhart)
Matthew Usher looks up at the clouds to check for rain as he waits for a concert to start as part of the Independence Day activities on Thursday, July 4, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Fireworks explode over the Philadelphia Museum of Art during an Independence Day celebration, Thursday, July 4, 2013, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Members of the Texas Rangers and their families watch fireworks from the field after the baseball game with the Seattle Mariners, Thursday, July 4, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers won 5-4. (AP Photo/Jim Cowsert)