July 4th Fireworks in Niagara Falls, New York

July 4 for many people is a day away from work. A time to party, have a barbecue, and watch a rather large pyrotechnic display in the night sky.

July fourth is also a birthday. The birthday of a nation. And while the cake and ice cream is provided separately by each person or group of people is any manner and form , the candles are provided by a special class of people who are trained to provide us with a spectacular visual display in the form of fireworks.

On the western edge of New York state lies the border town of Niagara Falls. The area shares its name with a town only half a mile across the Niagara River in Canada. Each year the two communities share the spectacular of Niagara Falls, tourists, and holidays. On July fourth our Canadian neighbours help the communities in western New York to celebrate the birth of their country by providing a display of fireworks lasting some 10 minutes in length.

While crowds gather along the Niagara rapids and next to the Falls themselves - which are lit in a rotating rainbow of colour - at Terripin Point, Luna Island, Prospect Point, and the Observation Tower, the night time spectacle can be seen from anywhere in the Niagara Falls State Park.

A fireworks display is a part of the activities offered every weekend during the summer tourist season at Niagara Falls, but displays lasting a few minutes longer are a special offering on holidays whether it be a Canadian holiday like Victoria Day or an American holiday like Independence Day - the fourth of July. On such occasions the thundering roar of Niagara Falls is surpassed only be the thundering roar of the fireworks as they explode upon the night sky with a plethora of designs and colours.

The fireworks begin at 10pm each Friday and Sunday night and on special holidays both Canadian and American.