Lighting an anvil
Photo courtesy of Museum of Appalachia
Not every Fourth of July celebration sticks to fireworks and parades. In fact, some veer far from the standard festivities.
Take Key West, where the Key Lime Festival adds a sweet twist to Independence Day. This year, it runs July 1–5, with events ranging from a pie-eating contest to the famed Key Lime Pie Drop. (Fun fact: The Florida Legislature named Key lime the official state pie in 2006.)
In Tennessee, the annual Independence Day Anvil Shoot Celebration quite literally blasts tradition into the sky, using gunpowder to launch anvils in a spectacle rooted in pioneer-era customs. The two-day event, held at the Museum of Appalachia in Clinton, also highlights the state’s Revolutionary War history.
In Seward, Ala., the Mount Marathon Race has been a Fourth of July staple since 1915. The challenge: run from downtown to the summit and back in under an hour. It’s not for the faint of heart — many runners finish battered, muddy and bleeding.
Meanwhile, in Willimantic, Conn., the Boom Box Parade marches to its own beat. Now in its 41st year, the procession swaps marching bands for boom boxes, with a local radio station broadcasting the music. It started in 1986, when local organizers could not find a band to perform for Memorial Day, and inaugurated the Boom Box Parade a few weeks later, for the Fourth.
And, where better to celebrate Independence Day than in Independence, Calif.? The small Inyo County town offers a classic slice of Americana, with plenty of nearby options for camping, hiking and fishing.