Fourth of July celebrations in 2020 will look a little different than in years past due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.  Many festivals, parades, etc. are cancelled.  So what is there to do with your family?  Where can you go to see a spectacular fireworks display?  Fortunately there are many options still available around the Lake Conroe/Montgomery area so you can begin to make plans.

The largest celebration has to be the Shell Freedom Over Texas in Houston.  Even though you cannot attend it in person, the entire celebration with a wide variety of musical guests from the Houston Symphony to Pat Green will be aired on ABC.  For an entire line-up and more information, click here.  A huge display of fireworks will also be aired around 9:30 p.m.  Although you will not be able to see any of this in person, you won’t have to fight traffic either.  You can watch everything from the comfort of your home.

For those of you who prefer to see fireworks in person, you have a few options. If you live in the Bentwater neighborhood, you don’t have to go far.  They are planning to begin the show around 9 p.m. on the 4th.  Earlier that day Bentwater is also hosting a parade.  Read more in The Courier. This is a gated community; therefore, it is not open to the general public.

This next option is the closest one to the Lake Conroe area that is open to everyone.  The Woodlands is still hosting the 4th of July Red, Hot, and Blue Fireworks Extravaganza.  They did cancel the festival and parade, but they will be launching the fireworks around 9:30 p.m. from the Lone Star College-Montgomery campus.  Check out this site for more information as to where the fireworks will be visible, etc.

Another local option is the city of Magnolia.  They will be hosting their Fourth of July Celebration in Unity Park.  Guests are invited to bring a picnic, chairs, and blankets to watch fireworks at dusk.  Instead of a bike parade, they are hosting a “Children’s Decorative Bike Show.”  For more information, follow @TheMagnoliaStroll on FaceBook.

A little further away, the city of Tomball will also host a fireworks show at the corner of FM 2920 and Hwy 249.  It should begin around 9:30 p.m. Like all the other celebrations mentioned above, this is free to the public.

Fortunately, there are several Fourth of July celebrations in 2020 for you to attend locally.  All of them include a fireworks show, which should be spectacular.  From your television set or from a blanket in a park, you can enjoy the holiday even during a pandemic.  Regardless where you spend Independence Day, celebrate our freedom.  To quote Peter Marshall, the chaplain to the US Senate in the 40s, “May we think of freedom, not as the right to do what we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.”