Fireworks illuminated the shoreline of Maryland’s second-oldest incorporated waterfront city as thousands sprawled out on picnic blankets and lawn chairs across Concord Point Park. Havre de Grace’s Fourth of July celebration continues to draw larger crowds each year.
The celebration dates back to 1896 and has gone through countless iterations of parade routes, fireworks locations and leadership.
This year’s Fourth of July festivities drew more than 15,600 people from all over Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware for the city’s parade that travels the same route George Washington did in 1789, and its 20-minute fireworks show off the shore of Concord Point Park.
“It was a perfect night. It was beautiful and it made you feel how you should feel on the Fourth of July,” said Taryn Martin, the co-chair of the Havre de Grace Independence Day Commission. “We are proud that the things we have put in place are working and that people want to be in our parade and people want to see our parade.”
Data from Placer.ai — one of Harford County’s tourism trackers — showed that on average, attendees spent about two and a half hours in Havre de Grace on the day of the parade.
“For a parade day, this is pretty good,” said Jodi Marschhauser, manager for Harford County’s tourism organization, Hello Harford. “For marketing purposes, you want people to stay longer because the longer they stay, the more they are eating, the more they are buying.”
Marschhauser said that compared to last year, Havre de Grace’s Independence Day event grew by about 2,000 attendees.
Referencing the increase in attendees and amount of time visitors spent in the city, Martin said the benefit of the traffic is the probability that people will return.
“People come to Havre de Grace for the first time because of the parade and fireworks and then they come back,” Martin said. “It is an economic boom for the city and draws people back, year-round.”
Placer.ai tracks location data from cellphone applications to track users from their hometown to events.
Just over 53% of Havre de Grace’s Independence Day attendees came from areas in Harford County outside of Havre de Grace. More than 2,300 came from Cecil County and hundreds of others came from Baltimore City; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; New Castle, Delaware; Chester, Pennsylvania; Howard County; Anne Arundel County; York, Pennsylvania and more.
“I am very pleased with the data and it is a strong sign that the efforts we’re doing here in Havre de Grace to make it a place people want to work, play and live are working every day,” said Havre de Grace Mayor Bill Martin. “It has always been our goal to make Havre de Grace a 21st Century city that can be modern but keep its historical charm and its seems to be working and drawing people from all over.”
Taryn Martin, the mayor’s wife, has led the city’s nonprofit parade organizing group since 2017.The group works throughout the year to raise about $50,000 through donations and events to fund the Independence Day parade. The funding is used to secure bands and performers as well as other expenses related to logistics, rentals and other supplies. The city covers the $25,000 cost for the fireworks.
This year, 120 groups and performances participated in the mile-long parade route from Union Avenue to Congress Street — an increase of 28 parade entries since 2017.
“It has been our goal to grow it and we have for the past nine years,” Martin said.
Martin said that next Fourth of July will be the 250th anniversary of America and that she will be working to bring big performances to the parade and to attract even more people to Havre de Grace.
Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.
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