Pittsburgh Fourth of July fireworks show returning

Pittsburgh’s Independence Day celebration will return this year, and other summertime events may also resume as coronavirus restrictions are eased, the city announced Monday.

The traditional gathering at Point State Park will include patriotic music and food vendors from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with the fireworks starting at dusk. It is being billed by the city as a “family-style picnic.”

“After a year of suffering, there is no better way to do that than joining our neighbors for the most Pittsburgh of all things, which of course is a giant fireworks display,” Mayor Bill Peduto said in a statement.

The fireworks were canceled in 2020 as part of pandemic restrictions.

The city also is poised to announce the resumption of other seasonal events, but details weren’t released Monday.

The Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race and Dollar Bank Junior Great Race will be held Sept. 25 and 26. Registration opens next week. For information, click here.

On the Fourth of July, the city also will waive a $25 fee for block parties and will provide barricades for groups that want to have them. For information about how to register for a permit for a block party, click here. For the city’s block party guidelines, click here.

The city’s noise ordinance is eased for such parties, but setting off fireworks within Pittsburgh’s city limits is almost always in violation of city laws because they can’t be set off within 150 feet of any structure.

Fireworks are prohibited in parks and public spaces within the city. Those in violation can be fined $100 and have their fireworks seized, officials said.

While pandemic restrictions canceled most public fireworks displays last summer, fireworks complaints in the city surged last June in advance of the holiday.

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