LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — Independence Day is fast approaching, so it's time to find out where you can celebrate in and around Lawrenceville. Events in the area include fireworks, festivals and other Fourth of July fun.

To help you mark your Fourth of July calendar, Patch has put together a guide to events in Lawrenceville and the surrounding area.

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Celebrations on July 4, 2024

What: 4th of July Anniversary Event at Morven Museum & Garden
Where: Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton St, Princeton
When: July 4, 12 noon
Morven is celebrating its 20th anniversary. This Independence Day, join in the commemorations and look back at history, civic engagement and community at the museum's annual Fourth of July Festival. The 2024 event is part of Civic Season, a national program of activities that connect Juneteenth and the Fourth of July to better understand our past and shape our future. The program includes community partners hosting family-friendly activities and crafts with themes of history, civics and service; tours of Morven's gardens; live music from the Vintage Vibe Tribe; food from Oink & Moo BBQ, The Empanada Guy and Kona Ice; face painting; an opportunity to sign the Declaration of Independence; and much more.

What: Trenton Thunder Baseball 4th of July Independence Day Extravaganza 2024
Where: Trenton Thunder Ballpark
When: July 4, 7 p.m.
Trenton Thunder hosts the Frederick Keys. Enjoy pregame happy hour and postgame fireworks.

What: Independence Day Celebration in East Windsor
Where: Etra Lake Park, East Windsor
When: July 6, from 6 p.m.
The Independence Day festivities begin at 6 p.m. with Jerry Rife's Rhythm Kings Dixieland Jazz Band, a 6-piece band from the Delaware Valley best known for its traditional jazz sound. Following at 7:45 p.m. is the Trenton Brass Quintet Plus One, a 6-piece ensemble from Central Jersey that plays Americana and a variety of popular tunes. The fireworks display begins immediately after the musical performances at around 9:30 p.m.

Today, Americans celebrate the birth of a new nation with fireworks, parades, concerts, family reunions and barbecues. But these celebrations date back centuries before Independence Day was established as a federal holiday in 1941.

In the crucial summer of 1776, the pre-revolutionary celebrations in honour of King George III's birthday were replaced by mock funerals in order to create a symbolic break with the Crown.

It was an exciting time in Philadelphia: The Continental Congress voted to secede from the Crown and two days later, on July 4, the original 13 colonies – New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia – adopted the Declaration of Independence.

The first annual commemoration of the nation's independence took place in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777, while the Revolutionary War was still in progress. Fireworks have been a part of the Fourth of July celebration since the first celebration in Philadelphia.