Boston Harborfest 2025: Fourth of July Celebration

Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Oh yeah. Heat. want to welcome you. I'm Michael Nichols, president of the Downtown Boston Alliance. Uh, how many of you have traveled to Boston today from outside our great Commonwealth of Massachusetts? 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. Uh, it's my great pleasure to introduce one of our core partners who makes this entire event possible. Uh Dave O'Donnell, vice president, strategic communications manager for ME Boston. Thank you, Michael. First and foremost, on behalf of ME Boston 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. Hello. terrorize. Meet Boston is always so thrilled to be part of Boston Harbor Fest. is such a wonderful 45-y 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 in the past few months with of course events in Lexington, conquered, Chelsea, and Charles Town. 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'll take us 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's always been at the forefront of change, reintrogating truth. And this matters a lot for us in 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 semiquesentennial 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 up on a hill. We welcome all of our visitors and our 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 Waters, the director of tourism, sports, and entertainment. John, good morning, Boston. That was decent. I grew up in a black Baptist church. Will call and response is pretty big. So, we're going to try this one more time. Good morning, Boston. There we go. That's more like it. Welcome to Harborfest 2025. What an honor and a privilege it is to stand here this morning. To all uh 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 Woo. 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 9:00 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 councelor Ed Flint. Thank you, John. I'm I'm city councelor at 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 US veterans. So, I do want to say thank you to all the veterans in the audience. As we celebrate Harbor Fest, I also want to recognize and celebrate and 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 councelor 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 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 Massachusetts where 250 years ago the American Revolution was born. That's where you applaud. But I'm just I'm joking. I'm joking. But again, we're excited to be here. We are 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 Mer 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 iron sides than right here in Boston, the city where her story began. Just steps from here where we gather today, Edmund Hart shipyard once stood. It was there on Constitution. 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 Edmond Hart shipyard as US 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 that founded 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 Harbor Fest, 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. Harbor First Harbor Fest reme 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, USS 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 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 uh just invite everybody to come out to Castle Island and the Harbor Walk uh to uh 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 USS or sorry the US Coast Guard Base Boston uh 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. uh assuming command of base Boston just last week. But growing up 25 miles south in Whitman, 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 sides transformed from an idea into a reality. As we celebrate Independence Day this weekend, let's enrich Boston's nonical 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 someone you trust. And if your plans change, let someone know. All right. So, although it may sound like I'm a nagging parent warning you of all the potential issues associated with your fund 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 served today to provide us that luxury of celebration. So, have fun and if you ever need the Coast Guard, we're always ready. Seras Now, it's my pleasure to introduce Council General, Mr. David Clay. Good afternoon, Boston. It's a pleasure to be with you uh today. Uh my name is David Clay. I'm His Majesty's Council General to uh 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. Um, now representing the United Kingdom is, let's say, an interesting uh thing to do around the celebrations of the 4th of July. We were of course on the losing side and there is uh 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 the beginning of a new partnership. Um the journey since then hasn't always been smooth sailing. Uh but today the UK and the US are the very closest of allies. At the Bunker Hill commemoration uh 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 peopleto people links and I've lost count of the number of people I've speaking to spoken to here in uh Boston who have family in the UK to Americans who have fallen in love in uh in London or in Edinburgh or somewhere else or people who have friendships that cross the Atlantic. This will be my first uh Harbor Fest or my first Fourth of July in Boston. Um I lived in New York for for several years, but I've heard from several reliable sources uh that Boston does it better. Is that is that right? Um so I'm really looking forward to seeing the series of events that are planned for Harbor Fest 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 uh joining you for your celebrations this year. Um every year we have around 200,000 visitors from the UK um coming to Boston enjoying Boston's history, its um museums, its food, its natural beauty, and its night life. 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 uh city councelor Aaron Murphy. Good afternoon everyone. I'm Aaron Murphy the atlarge city councelor 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 atlarge city councelor. We're also a coastal city where we we have miles of coast from East Boston, Charles Town where the USS Constitution lives, the North End where the US Coast Guard is to South Boston over to Dorchester, my neighborhood. So, thank you. I'm a proud daughter of um my dad was in the Navy of someone. So, thank you for that. And one thing that your district counselor council Flynn did not mention, he did thank all the veterans on, but he is um 20 plus years a Navy veteran himself. So, thank you, Council Flynn. Um 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. you have a beautiful ocean and activities and go to the um 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. And speaking of that cake, I am now the last person standing between you and some cake. So just a couple of housekeeping items here. Uh first, please as you 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 his our beautiful historic sites and of course the Freedom Trail and the 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 bostonh harborfest.com. As mentioned earlier, there will be musical performances, there will be fireworks, there'll be a number of different activities. So, check out bostonh harborfest.com for the full range of of events that'll 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, Kiss Hands-Free Shoes, Boston Harbor City Cruises, Mnt Bank Corporation, Gator Light, Raising Canes, Energy Energy, uh, that's a tough one, Celsius, Floor Decor, uh, and of course our partners at Conventures. Thank you all for making Harbor Fest 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. One more right here. Thank you so much.