As the mercury climbed above 100 degrees in the Philadelphia region two days before the nation’s 250th birthday, it was, it seemed, too hot for liberty as originally planned.
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Thursday marked the start of the Red White & Blue To-Do — Philadelphia’s third-annual celebration of the day the Second Continental Congress voted to adopt a resolution of independence here on July 2, 1776. Though many events honoring that anniversary were planned, several highly anticipated gatherings were canceled or postponed due to the heat.
And yet, despite the oppressive temperatures on a particularly toasty July day in the cradle of the nation’s founding, the celebration started early Thursday.
At 7 a.m., some 250 revelers, clad in red, white, and blue clothing, gathered at Independence Mall to make a living Liberty Bell — a representation of a symbol that has defined Philadelphia for centuries, and a touchstone for Americans nationwide. The human formation even captured the bell’s signature crack through an outline of participants wearing blue.
Likewise, performers from neighborhoods across Philadelphia and nations around the world weren’t slowed down by the heat as they marched, stepped, and danced their way down Independence Mall in the Red, White & Blue To-Do Pomp & Parade. Attendance, however, did seem to be impacted, with relatively light crowds along the sunny parade route.
Participants pulled wagons featuring small floats of Independence Hall, the LOVE sculpture, and the Liberty Bell, and a historical interpreter portraying John Adams brought up the rear of the procession. Lines for both Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, meanwhile, snaked down the sides of their respective buildings.
Pastor Funmi Obilana of RCCG Church in West Philly stopped to watch the parade with two other members of her congregation on their way to the President’s House site. The three women were doing a walking tour of their own city Thursday, stopping at places where their ancestors were once enslaved in advance of Independence Day.
“We are here to pray for this city and this nation,” Obilana said. “Two-hundred-and-fifty years is a big number and it should be a new beginning, not only for Philadelphia, but for the nation.”
Mayors from around the country who traveled to the city Thursday seemed to agree. Those local leaders were in town for a walk that featured 100 mayors from small towns and big cities nationwide touring Philadelphia. Despite scorching temperatures and differing political alignments, the mayors quickly befriended one another, many bonding over a shared connection of a city or state.
That mayoral group, led by Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker as they marched from the President’s House to Independence Hall, later gathered in a small auditorium in the Museum of the American Revolution. There, Parker urged attendees to come together and share ideas, as representatives from across the colonies had in the 1700s.
“May today’s conversations strengthen old friendships, spark new ideas, and renew our shared commitment to public service,” Parker said. “Welcome to Philadelphia, everyone. Let’s roll up our sleeves and continue the hard work together.”
The meeting, it seemed, was a fitting one. On July 2, 1776, 12 of the 13 colonies voted in favor of independence from Great Britain, explained Tom Cochran, U.S. Conference of Mayors CEO and executive director. Only New York cast a no vote — until a few days later when it got onboard, as well.
“We talk about the declaration, we talk about the Constitution, it was on that day, July 2nd … that we broke,” Cochran said.
About 30 members of Congress also made the trip to town, lining up to enter Independence Hall for a ceremonial event that included speeches from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.). The event, said U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson (R., Pa.), showed that “the origins of our republic trace back to Pennsylvania.”
Founding Father John Adams believed July 2 would be celebrated for generations to come with “Pomp and Parade,” but July 4, when Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, ended up getting all of the glory and became the day we mark the nation’s founding. Now, more than two centuries later, Philadelphia seemed to be making good on Adams’ initial interpretation.
That is, except for the heat. Thursday’s skyrocketing temperatures, which hit 102 degrees in the afternoon, resulted in some alterations to the day’s events. The parade, for example, fell victim to a shortened route. A planned All-American Block Party was canceled entirely. And the Wawa Welcome America Salute to Service concert, featuring Queen Latifah, had its start time pushed back. Parades, fireworks, drone shows, and other events planned in South Jersey were also affected by the extreme heat.
And as the Fourth approaches Saturday, we aren’t likely to get much relief. In fact, Friday is expected to be a little warmer, followed by possibly stormy weather slated for the evening of Independence Day.
But the weather, however inclement, some visitors said, was illustrative of what the Founding Fathers dealt with when the United States was born a quarter-millennium ago. Lori Morgan and her three daughters traveled to Philadelphia from Boston, hoping to celebrate the nation’s historic 250th birthday in the place where it all happened. They toured Independence Hall this week, and Morgan said it gave them a new perspective on the days and people that led to the founding of our nation.
“We really thought about how when they did the Declaration it was a hot summer and this weather is helping us empathize with what they went through,” Morgan said. ”They all had different ideas, just like we do today, but they knew they couldn’t fail and they had to come together, and they did.”
Staff writers Michelle Baruchman, Emily Bloch, and Anthony R. Wood contributed to this article.
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