The 4th of July, America’s national holiday celebrating the United States independence from Great Britain, has long been a day which has been associated with parades, barbeques, family, and fireworks. While recklessness, debauchery, drunkenness, days off, and the frustration of having things closed when you want them to be open is another, larger association with the holiday, it is true that the 4th of July is a great time to try new things, explore new places, and is an excuse to visit with and reconnect to long-estranged family members.
Danbury Connecticut, located in the beautiful valley of south western Fairfield County Connecticut is a fine place to escape the hustle bustle for people working in or living more near New York City, Danbury is a short 67 mile jaunt down the Hudson River and it’s proximity to both New York, Boston, and areas east in Rhode Island make the Danbury experience one to be remembered.
But when it comes to the 4th of July in the greater Danbury area you’ve got to take a while to really immerse yourself in the whole experience. There are two separate fireworks displays, this year happening the Saturday prior to the actual holiday (6/30/07) at the Danbury Town Park which is the beach for the man made Candlewood Lake. Fireworks are visible from towns all around but your best seat is always right at the beachfront. If you’re with your sweetie and you’re not as interested in the fireworks as in snuggling, you can always take respite beneath the willow trees further up from the sand by the Town Parks entrance and just sit and enjoy the evening air.
After that there is another fireworks display, this time on the opposite end of town, near the NY State border at the Danbury Fair Mall. This is always a much more impressive event and has been for years. Happening this year on 7/3/07, you can literally park anywhere in the mall parking lot or around the area and enjoy the fantastic fireworks. For more information about both of these events, check out the City of Danbury Home Page (www.ci.danbury.ct.us)
But fireworks are only a part of the 4th of July holiday. You’ll also want to be able to connect with friends, eat, drink, and be merry. If there’s no one you know who is throwing or invited to a party or barbeque of any kind, then there are a whole host of hot spots for you to check out.
The city center is literally crawling with people out looking for a good time. One of the places you can begin your pub crawl is at Two Steps Downtown Grille (5 Ives St) With the ability to play to larger groups and the reasonably priced Tex-Mex food options, Two Steps is right in step with your 4th of July festivities.
If you’d like to take a step to the side there is also Ciao (2 Ives St) that serves Italian food and has plenty of great drinks, ambiance, and is a starting point if you’d like to make an evening out of the day or a place to wind down and sip some of their fantastic wines if you’re headed to bed early.
A couple of other places in town that I’d recommend for great food for your 4th of July include Sesame Seed (68 W Wooster St) Jim Barbarie’s Restaurant (47 Padanaram Rd – www.jbrestaurant.com) & Chuck’s Steak House (20 Segar St www.chucksdanbury.com) three more well respected, out of the way spots, that might get lost in the glare of all the commercial chain restaurants which pepper the main drags in such a cool, individual place like Danbury.
