🇺🇲 Patriotic weekend essentials

I’m old enough to remember — through childhood nostalgia — America’s Bicentennial in 1976. My family went to a pool party at a friend’s country club to watch a huge fireworks display, eat burgers, and drink soda (the latter only for special occasions). My core memory, however, is that my brother, our babysitter, and I spent the previous weeks painting a fire hydrant to resemble Paul Revere, part of a nationwide campaign to paint fire hydrants as patriotic characters.

I can't walk around town and see a quirky art installation of fire hydrants for America 250, sadly. But I can support local shopkeepers by shopping locally for holiday essentials. (Remember to check hours, as business owners need to celebrate the holiday, too.)

In Good Company

It’s going to be hot as a firecracker this week, so if you don’t want to turn on the oven or fire up the grill to cook, understood. In Good Company in the Shoppes on Fatherland is a gourmet grocery with tinned fish, crackers, and the cutest new striped bags for carrying your picnic supplies wherever you are headed. (Need a new picnic blanket? Order a locally made one from Faircloth.)

Any Old Iron

If you want to dress like a human firework, with sequins and sparkles that catch the light, head to Any Old Iron on 4th Avenue North. Andrew Clancey makes stagewear for the biggest stars … but also clothes for the rest of us. Even if you don’t plan on going out for the Fourth, you can dress yourself in rodeo PJs for an Americana vibe.

United Apparel Liquidators

If you’re going to spend the long weekend outside, you gotta protect your eyes. UAL sells designer samples of clothing and shoes, and it is my go-to for affordable, but not junky, sunglasses. The Southern chain started in Mississippi and has three locations in Nashville, including West End, 12 South, and a new one on White Bridge Pike.

Lemon Laine

You gotta protect your skin, too. East Nashville’s Lemon Laine has some color-free zinc options that are high in SPF but won’t make you look like a five-year-old at the pool.

The world can be divided into two groups: People who want to spend the Fourth of July watching fireworks with 365,000 other people and those who don’t. This year, Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th, Nashville’s big fireworks blowout, is being broadcast by ABC, so both groups can be satisfied.

The festivities include musical performances by The All-American Rejects, Boyz II Men, Brothers Osborne, Clint Black, Lauren Daigle, NE-YO, Nick Jonas, Sublime, Emily Ann Roberts, and a bunch of others. If you’re a person who believes in collective effervescence — the idea that sharing something in a group makes it more magical — then you’ll want to head downtown. (You can also check out this great City Cast Nashville list of other, smaller festivities within a quick drive of Nashville.)

In addition to the TV broadcast, there are all sorts of accommodations to make this year’s Independence Day party welcoming to all. That includes a Sober Space Hangout on Gay Street, an ASL interpreter on the Broadway stage, ADA platforms at multiple stages, and Sensory Bags from KultureCity, plus a sensory room near Second Avenue and Broadway.

The fireworks will ignite the sky between 9:30-10 p.m. on July 4, synced to the music of the Nashville Symphony, with 1,000 drones. It promises to be the largest fireworks show in the city’s history. That’s just the end of the two-day festivities, so if you want to see the music, head down Friday or earlier on Saturday.

Or, cuddle up in those aforementioned Any Old Iron pajamas and watch “Disney Celebrates America: Nashville’s Star-Spangled Bash” hosted by Ryan Seacrest from 7-10 p.m. on ABC from the comfort of your own home, feasting on those treats from In Good Company.

Speaking of feasting, July 4 is also the 20th annual Music City Hot Chicken Festival, a fundraiser for Metro Parks & Recreation. There’ll be a fire truck parade (for fun, not to douse your mouth after eating lots of the signature Nashville dish), plus more chicken than it is wise to eat. To learn more about how hot chicken became Nashville’s iconic food, check out this recent episode of City Cast Nashville.