Independence Day Gratitude

I’ve covered the festivities surrounding the Lititz 4^th of July celebrations a little more thoroughly (and frankly, with better photography) in the past, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t reiterate how lucky I feel to be part of community that can effectively pull off these large-scale events.

Almost a year’s worth of planning and thousands of volunteer hours are invested to make sure families like mine can enjoy this holiday in a way that is uniquely “Lititz.” It truly is a blessing, and I’m thankful to those who put in the time to make all this happen. Those unsung community members play no small part in ensuring that the Evans’s get to engage in some of our most cherished summer family traditions.

Lititz’s 4th of July events were a little bit more compacted this year as the Lititz Lions Club Patriotic Parade (traditionally held the evening of July 3^rd) was moved to earlier in the day on the fourth itself. And although the predicted thunderstorms never materialized, the scorching temperatures didn’t get the memo that our celebration would be a little longer than normal and persisted unabated.

When we moved our family caravan from our parade viewing spot to Lititz Springs Park, we did find some respite from the heat in a shady spot near the band shell. After an enjoyable afternoon of entertainment, we eventually relocated to our blanket on the baseball field for the fireworks a little earlier than normal. We wanted to beat the crush of the, by then, voluminous crowd after the conclusion of the Queen of Candles festivities. That meant I missed some sweet sweet candle lighting photo ops, but there’s always next year I suppose.

Thanks as always to generous residents of Lititz for providing my family with the opportunity to have yet another memorable 4^th of July. The nation’s longest continuously observed Independence Day celebration serves as an excellent reminder to what we can accomplish when we all work together toward a common good.

What’s more patriotic than that?

2024 Lititz 4th Photo Gallery