Boston Harborfest 2025: Fourth of July Celebration

How many of you have traveled to Boston today from outside our great Commonwealth of Massachusetts? Let's give it up for yourselves. I assure you the weather is like this 365 days a year in Boston. We dress like this 365 days a year in Boston and we are just thrilled to welcome you to the heart of our fantastic city for Boston Harbor Fest 2025. It's my great pleasure to introduce one of our core partners who makes this entire event possible, Dave O'Donnell, vice president strategic communications manager for MeBoston. First and foremost, on behalf of MeBoston and my CEO Martha Sheridan, it's our honor, it's our, it's my honor to introduce the Harbor Fest color guard. Color guard, post your colors. MeBoston is always so thrilled to be part of Boston Harbor Fest. It's such a wonderful 45-year tradition that celebrates not only our rich culture but the history and heritage of our maritime fabric that is so essential to Boston. Where else do you get two fireworks displays and all the programming both downtown on the waterfront and of course on the Esplanade? And it's such an important event not only for visitors to Boston, which are those that we speak to, but also for residents of Boston. It showcases our historical assets but underscores how essential they are to the ongoing story of Boston, a destination that has featured four centuries of thought leadership and innovation. So on the eve of the 250th, it's important to note while most of this nation is gearing up for the events of next summer, here in Boston we've already been commemorating for nearly a decade now, including the past few months with of course events in Lexington, Concord, Chelsea, and Charlestown. This month, this week even, marks the 250th anniversary of when George Washington arrived to Boston and Cambridge to take command of the Continental Army. And that whole thing is right up till next March, evacuation day, which ended eight years of occupation from the British Army Navy here in Boston. The impetus for independence started here. Why Boston? We ask ourselves this all the time. The city has always been at the forefront of change, re-interrogating truth, and this matters a lot for us to meet Boston because what we know is when people come here, when visitors come to Boston, they're seeking something. They're seeking to understand the energy that drove that initiative for change and continues to define the future and how Boston helps as a chief architect of that future. In many ways, this innate curiosity becomes a deeper form of patriotism, even a disruptive form of patriotism. We are proud of that. So as we enter the final stretch of our semi-quintennial, going into next year, and after that, as this city approaches its 400th anniversary, I'll note four centuries of immigrant history that truly make Boston the city of Montehill. We welcome all of our visitors and residents to keep seeking, never stop seeking. And with that, it's my pleasure to introduce one of our great partners and leaders at City Hall, John Morders, the director of tourism, sports, entertainment. John. Good morning, Boston. That was decent. I grew up in a black Baptist church. We'll call them responses pretty big, so we're going to try this one more time. Good morning, Boston. Welcome to Harborfest 2025. What an honor and a privilege it is to stand here this morning to all distinguished on this panel, all on this roster, anyone who had anything to do with moving this forward. I stand before you on behalf of the mayor of our great city, Mayor Michelle Wu. We are really honored to be here and to have you here with us. We would like to thank you for taking the time to come to Boston for those that traveled from outside of the city, for those who have traveled outside of the state, for those who have traveled outside of the nation. We do not count it, or we count it a privilege rather, to have you here and to have you as our guest. So please take advantage of every single thing that you will be able to engage in while you're here in Boston. All the free and open to the public events that we have over the entire weekend, including a parade that will start on Boston City Hall Plaza on Friday morning, I believe at 9 a.m. Fireworks, take advantage of everything on the waterfront, patronize the businesses, go into the 23 neighborhoods that make Boston so unique, and please and please tell somebody about how amazing your time in Boston was. As we continue to move this city forward, as we continue to do our part, we the people come here collectively to celebrate you and to celebrate this amazing city. Thank you so much. I now have the privilege of introducing City Councilor Ed Flynn. Thank you, John. I'm City Councilor Ed Flynn and represent this neighborhood in honor to welcome you here to downtown Boston, to Boston. We're honored to have you. We're not only celebrating the birthday of America, we're also celebrating and recognizing the men and women of our country that put on our nation's uniform in defense of our nation. We would not be here today if it wasn't for our U.S. veterans, so I do want to say thank you to all the veterans in the audience. As we celebrate HarborFest, I also want to recognize and celebrate in honor and welcome the men and women, the sailors of USS Donald Cook that is here with us as well. And on behalf of myself and City Councilor Erin Murphy that is here, we want to say to you, thank you. Welcome to Boston. We're honored to have you here. We're honored to celebrate July 4th with you and your family on this special day. Welcome to Boston. And at this time, I do have the privilege to welcome the commanding officer of the USS Donald Cook, Commander White, and he's here representing the men and women of this exceptional ship. We're honored to have you here today. Thank you, sir. Good afternoon, everyone. It is an honor to be in the historic city of Boston this afternoon. USS Donald Cook and her crew of fearless warriors are excited, are excited to be here today. I can't think of a better place than to celebrate our nation's independence than in Boston, Massachusetts. As you all certainly know, Boston has a lot of history in our nation as well as the state of the American Revolution was born. That's where you applaud, but I'm joking. But again, we're excited to be here. We want to host you all on board our ship for tours. Our sailors want to show off our ship and show what we're capable of, right? We are here to reinforce to the American citizens our their trust and confidence in our ability to execute mission and execute tasking. So please come over to USS Donald Cook for tours. And now I have the honor of introducing to the stage the 78th commanding officer of the USS Constitution. She's the second woman ever to command the USS Constitution, and she's nuclear trained, so she's a nuke. Please welcome to the stage, native of Medford, Wisconsin, Commander Schaefer. All right. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, fellow veterans and distinguished guests. It is my honor to serve as the 78th commanding officer of the USS Constitution, and I can think of no more fitting of a home for old Ironsides than right here in Boston, the city where her story began. Just steps from here where we gather today, Edmund Hart's shipyard once stood. It was there where Constitution's keel was laid in 1795 and where she was launched on October 21st of 1797, and today we know Edmund Hart's shipyard as U.S. Coast Guard Base Boston. As America's ship of state, Constitution stands as a living symbol of the freedom and democracy given to us by the document she was named after. While she was not part of the American Revolution, her timbers carry the legacy of that founding generation, and throughout her long life, her decks have borne the weight of sailors and Marines who served in every major conflict since, each one helping preserve the ideals that first took root here in Boston. Today, as we open Boston's Harborfest, we celebrate not just a city, but the spirit of a revolution, the birthplace of American independence, where courage sparked a movement and ordinary citizens forged a new nation. Harborfest reminds us that Boston's harbor has always been more than water and ships. It is a gateway to freedom, a stage for history, and a symbol of resilience. And in that tradition, U.S. Constitution continues to serve not only as a warship of the past, but as a bridge between our heritage and our future. May Harborfest renew our appreciation for Boston's enduring role in the American story, and may it inspire all of us to carry forward the values that have guided us for nearly 250 years. And I just invite everybody to come out to Castle Island and the Harbor Walk to view the Constitution as we get underway for our traditional cruise on July 4th. So thank you. It is now my honor to introduce the commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Base Boston, Captain Patrick Sullivan. Good afternoon, Boston Harborfest. How are we today? So I'm absolutely delighted to represent the Coast Guard at today's ceremony. Assuming command of Base Boston just last week, but growing up 25 miles south of Wyndon, Massachusetts, I'm honored to be here today and proud to be a part of the world's best Coast Guard in my favorite city. Boston is a special place with a rich nautical and seagoing history, and I'm reminded of that history every day as I walk onto my base and into the building where old iron signs transformed from an idea into a reality. As we celebrate Independence Day this weekend, let's enrich Boston's nautical history with a focus on family, friendship, safety, and responsibility. Enjoy yourselves and look out for one another. All right, so here's my public service announcement. I'm sorry, I'll get through it quickly. But when accidents occur, there's usually little time to go find life jackets. Wearing a life jacket at all times while on your boat helps you and keeps your family safe. Take the time to take a boating safety course. It's not just about rules, it's about knowing how to protect yourself and everyone else on board. 80% of boating accidents with fatalities occur on boats where the operator had no formal training. Know the weather and consider filing a float plan. Always tell someone where you're going and when you'll return. Consider leaving a picture of your boat and description of your vessel with All right, so although it may sound like I'm a nagging parent mourning you of all the potential issues associated with your fun this summer, I do wish you all a safe and wonderful weekend on the water as we celebrate July 4th. It's important we celebrate our nation's independence as so many people came before us and many serve today to provide us that luxury of celebration. So have fun and if you ever need the Coast Guard, we're always ready. Semper Paratus. Now it's my pleasure to introduce Consul General Mr. David Clay. Good afternoon Boston, it's a pleasure to be with you today. My name is David Clay, I'm His Majesty's Consul General to New England and in this year of celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the Revolution, I must say it's very nice to be invited to an event which isn't marking the defeat of the British in a battle. Now representing the United Kingdom is let's say an interesting thing to do around the celebrations of the 4th of July. We were of course on the losing side and there is something a little odd about cheering a loss even if it was 250 years ago but I prefer not to think of the events of 1775 and 1776 as an ending or as a defeat but as beginning of a new partnership. The journey since then hasn't always been smooth sailing but today the UK and the US are the very closest of allies. At the Bunker Hill commemoration just a couple of weeks ago it was really moving to hear a Marine Corps General tell the crowd that in his long career as a Marine he had never gone into battle without the British at his side and our partnership in 2026 extends to business, to culture, education, science and technology and most importantly people-to-people links and I've lost count of the number of people I've spoken to here in Boston who have family in the UK to Americans who have fallen in love in London or in Edinburgh or someone else or people who have friendships that cross the Atlantic. This will be my first Harbourfest on my first 4th of July in Boston. I lived in New York for several years but I've heard from several reliable sources that Boston does it better. Is that right? So I'm really looking forward to seeing the series of events that are planned for Harbourfest this year. My three kids are really excited to see the parade, to see the USS Constitution underway and of course to see the fireworks but my family and I won't be the only Brits joining you for your celebrations this year. Every year we have around 200,000 visitors from the UK coming to Boston enjoying Boston's history, its museums, its food, its natural beauty and its nightlife. So on behalf of all of them, on behalf of the British government, I would like to wish everyone a happy 4th of July. It's now my great pleasure to introduce to offer a few remarks City Councillor Erin Murphy. Good afternoon everyone. I'm Erin Murphy, the at-large City Councillor and welcome to Boston. We are a proud city of immigrants. We're a city of 23 neighborhoods and I get to represent all of them as an at-large City Councillor. We're also a coastal city where we have miles of coast from East Boston, Charlestown where the USS Constitution lives, the North End where the U.S. Coast Guard is to South Boston over to Dorchester, my neighborhood. So thank you. I'm a proud daughter of my dad was in the Navy. So thank you for that and one thing that your District Councillor, Councillor Flynn did not mention, he did thank all the veterans on but he is 20 plus years a Navy veteran himself. So thank you Councillor Flynn and on this weekend, don't hold it against me, my son is in the Army. So I'm a proud mom of a veteran but thank you all for being here and know that you know welcome to the city. Enjoy downtown but also enjoy our waterfront. We have a beautiful ocean and activities and go to the Harbor Islands are also our hidden gem here in the city. So enjoy and enjoy the cake from Montilio. It's always a favorite here today. So thank you. Speaking of that cake, I am now the last person standing between you and some cake. So just a couple of housekeeping items here. First, please as you enjoy downtown Boston, get out, enjoy our streets, enjoy our retailers, our restaurants. There's some amazing amenities here in downtown Boston along with our beautiful historic sites and of course the Freedom Trail and the great work done by Suzanne, our partner here at the Freedom Trail Foundation. Get out on the Freedom Trail and explore our city. Harborfest is a fantastic network of events and activities that are all free and open to you throughout the next couple of days. Check out bostonharborfest.com. As mentioned earlier, there will be musical performances, there will be fireworks, there'll be a number of different activities. So check out bostonharborfest.com for the full range of events that will be coming up. None of this would have been possible without our sponsors. First and primarily Meet Boston. Thank you for your support. Thank you to the City of Boston, the Downtown Boston Alliance, Kisik Hands Free Shoes, Boston Harbor City Cruises, M&T Bank Corporation, Gator Light, Raising Cane's, Energy Energy, uh that's a tough one, Celsius, Floor Decor, and of course our partners at Conventures. Thank you all for making Harborfest possible this year. So with that we will invite our dignitaries to come down to help cut the cake, followed by please those of you who are here, there is enough for everyone, stick around we'll be handing out slices of cake as soon as we we get the cutting uh the cutting started down here. But thank you for visiting Boston. Thank you for visiting Downtown Boston. Enjoy your week here in Boston.