10 Things to Do in Rye for July 4th

1. Watch the Fireworks

Rye Playland

• July 2, 4, 5 at 9:15 p.m.
• Playland also has fireworks every Wednesday and Friday, July through September.
• Fireworks will be visible from the boardwalk and from the new Tiki Bar.

Port Chester High School

• July 4 at 7:30 p.m.
• Ceremony will begin with awards and songs in the high school stadium; fireworks will begin as dark falls.

White Plains High School

•  Friday, July 2 at 8 p.m.

Harbor Island, Mamaroneck

•  Sunday, July 4 around 9 p.m.

Hudson Park, New Rochelle

•  Sunday, July 4 at 8 p.m. (music begins at 6:30 p.m.)

2. Trace the Revolution

• Jacob Purdy House
• 60 Park Avenue, White Plains
• Open by appointment, 914-328-1776

 Built in the early 1700's, the Jacob Purdy House has "been source-documented as General Washington's Headquarters" for part of the Revolutionary War. 

• Thomas Paine Cottage
• 20 Sicard Avenue, New Rochelle

• Open 2 – 5 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays

§ Thomas Paine was a humanist and the author of Common Sense, a widely-read 1776 pamphlet that convinced many colonists that they should fight for freedom from Britain. This cottage displays some of Paine's artifacts and gifts to the author from Benjamin Franklin.  

3. Learn about Rye's History

• Knapp House Archives
• 265 Rye Beach Avenue, Rye
• Open Saturdays 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., give advance notice of a visit: 914- 967-8657

Contains over 15,000 items recording local history—photos, maps, books, manuscripts

4. Harbor Island Firemen's Parade and Carnival

• Harbor Island Park, Mamaroneck
• June 29 – July 5
• Food, rides, games and raffles hosted by the Village of Mamaroneck Fire Department

5. Rye Library Independence Day Celebration 2010

• Village Green, in front of the Rye Library
• Saturday, July 3, 10 a.m.
• The day begins with activities for kids inside the library, then Rye residents will recite famous American speeches, sing patriotic songs, and display the Rye American Legion Post's historical flag.

6. Westchester Chamber Orchestra Free Independence Day Concert

• Saturday July 3 at 5 p.m.
• Ossie Davis Theater, New Rochelle Public Library
• The orchestra will perform a program of American composers including Leroy Anderson, Aaron Copland, and Victor Herbert.

7. Port Chester Beautification Contest

• Submit entry by July 1 to Beautification@portchesterny.com
• Judging period: July 3- 10
• This first annual contest sponsored by the Port Chester Beautification Comission encourages single and multiple family homes to prune or plant gardens! Judges will focus solely on front and side yards. Prizes will be won!

8. Larchmont Celebration

• Fourth of July Races at Flint Park, July 4, 10 a.m.
• Dixie Dandies Concert in Manor Park, July 4, 7:15 – 9 p.m.

9. Greenwich Independence Day Celebration

• Front steps of Town Hall, Greenwich
• July 4 at 9 a.m.
• Greenwich residents will raise the first American flag, read from the Declaration of Independence, honor Greenwich citizens who fought in the Revolutionary War, and present Good Citizen Awards to youth of Greenwich. The Sound Beach Community Band will perform, and refreshments will be served.

10. Garlic Weekend at Stone Barns

• July 3 - 4
• 630 Bedford Road. Pocantico Hills
• The Stone Barns Center, a nonprofit teaching farm, offers free sessions, such as garlic tasting and food-themed story time, and some with fees, such as Farm to Table: Pesto, Make Your Own Garlic, and Energy Enhancing Fruits and Herbs. For full agenda, click here: http://tarrytown.patch.com/announcements/garlic-weekend-4th-of-july-week...

11. Day Trip to Franklin Roosevelt Home

• Hyde Park, NY
• Buildings open from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily; gardens and ground free and open from dawn to dusk

As long as you're celebrating American history, come visit the home and burial place of the president who led us through the Great Depression and World War II. A ticket to Roosevelt's home ($14 adults, visitors 15 or younger are free) also includes admission to the FDR Presidential Library and Museum. Holiday weekends are busy, so call 845-229-5320 for reservations.