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Miami is going especially big for America’s semiquincentennial, a word that doesn't look any more real the more you use it.
On Saturday, July 4, Bayfront Park will host 250 United: America’s 250th Celebration, an all-day waterfront bash featuring live music, FIFA World Cup viewing parties, fireworks, drone shows and enough patriotic spectacle to make even the most cynical Floridian pause mid frozen daiquiri.
RECOMMENDED: Look for 48 giant inflatable soccer balls as part of a citywide World Cup-themed scavenger hunt in Miami this summer
The free event, presented by the Bayfront Park Management Trust and hosted by IRIE, runs from 1pm to midnight along Biscayne Bay with musical guests including Ashanti, Ja Rule, The Fray, Shaggy, Willy Chirino and 112 featuring Slim and Mike.
The event will also include a FIFA World Cup Fan Zone with giant-screen match viewing, food vendors, cocktails and family-friendly programming throughout the park before the evening culminates in a drone light show over the water and fireworks at midnight. Admission is free, though organizers are asking all attendees to RSVP in advance. There is paid parking available, and doors open at noon.
The timing is especially fitting for Miami, which has spent the past few years transforming into the nation’s unofficial capital of giant outdoor events. Bayfront Park alone hosts everything from Ultra Music Festival to New Year’s Eve blowouts, and this year’s Fourth of July celebration feels engineered to combine Miami’s favorite things into one marathon party day: international soccer, waterfront cocktails, nostalgia acts and pyrotechnics.
There’s also something very Miami about celebrating America’s 250th birthday with Shaggy performing near a FIFA fan zone while drones fly over Biscayne Bay. The Founding Fathers probably didn’t envision this exact scenario, but honestly, they might have appreciated the commitment.
And because this is South Florida in July, prepare accordingly: sunscreen, hydration and a certain emotional readiness to hear some nostalgic hits echoing across the water at sunset.
The 250 United: America's 250th Celebration at Bayfront Park concert is located at 301 Biscayne Boulevard. To RSVP for the free concert, click here.