Philly finds ways to celebrate after parade is canceled; Pops concert is still on; Trump administration can install its President's House panels

At the Benjamin Franklin look-alike contest at Independence Hall, which was supposed to end early, the crowd enthusiastically shouted, “One more Ben, one more Ben.” Latecomers — men and women dressed like the famed Founding Father — walked through the crowd to the front. It wasn't a catwalk, per se, but the Franklin stroll. 

Elena Jackendoff, 32, a student at Johns Hopkins University studying public health, organized the event. 

“You have to make the event you want to see in the world," she said. 

With another scorcher on tap for July Fourth, here are some tips for surviving the heat.

Avoid activity in the peak heat of the day and stay hydrated, said Jonathan Bar, director of emergency preparedness at the University of Pennsylvania’s department of emergency medicine.

“The best way to know if you are hydrated is to monitor your pee,” he said. “No urine or very dark is a sign of dehydration.”

The teens of Sahuarita High School's marching band came a long way from their Arizona homes to not be allowed to perform at the Semiquincentennial parade because of the heat. Still, it taught them a valuable lesson about being an American, said band director Ben Garland.

“An American value is community,” Garland said, surrounded by his 87 students at Reading Terminal Market. “We should do our best to take care of one another even if we have different ideas or values, and that’s what the city did.” 

Despite the cancellation, Garland praised Philadelphia authorities and organizers for still making parade participants feel part of the 250th celebrations by letting them perform in different areas of Old City. 

Although Reading Terminal Market historically closes on the Fourth of July, it’s open and bustling for the United States’ 250th birthday. 

“This is the corner to be,” said Dina Pretti, who just ordered an iced coffee from Old City Coffee (the best in the city, she says) and pointed toward Famous 4th Street Cookies (also the best in the city, she says). This Fourth of July feels especially exciting. Although she usually leaves the city, she wanted to stay for the World Cup fan festival and the holiday celebrations. 

Charles Shipper, who works at Contessa’s French Linens, said he usually gets irritated when he has to walk what feels like half a mile through Reading Terminal to find a coffee. This year, with the influx of tourists for the World Cup, he has come to appreciate the space through visitors' eyes. 

At Lori Ney’s home, humans weren’t the only ones whose Fourth of July plans changed. Yorkie poodles Ella and Eva were left with their costumes on waiting for a celebration. 

“We knew it was canceled, but we still wanted to come to see what else was happening,” said Nay, 60. “We wanted to be part of history.” 

Without a fixed plan, but wanting to celebrate her country, Nay packed up her pups, a couple of cooling pads, and a stroller, and drove from Wynnewood to the Liberty Bell. 

At the President’s House on Friday, a man taped sheets of paper to the wall where the exhibits were previously on display. 

The papers said: “Trump has hidden the main info panels of this exhibit since January."

The man, who declined to be named citing fear of retaliation, accused President Donald Trump's "authoritarian administration" of "neglecting to tell the story of those who actually fought for the liberties and freedoms we all celebrate."

The collegiate performers in Asian American Dragon & Lion Dance troupe, led by Henry Lee, performed Friday afternoon outside Independence Hall.

"I feel immense pride to be able to show the love for our country," Lee said.

The group boasts more than 20 years of experience performing for audiences around the Northeast. They broke into dance, carrying the long puppet dragon to the pulsing beat of a drum.

Two Massachusetts war reenactors sipped on iced coffee to cool off amid the heat wave, saddened that the Semiquincentennial Parade was called off.

“We won’t be around for the 300th, so we really wanted to come for the 250th,” said Kathy Touzjian, 61. “At least we still have cheesesteaks.”

Touzjian and her friend Laurie Pelletier were among 75 members of the Massachusetts Army of 1775 who rode on a bus for six hours to be in the parade Friday morning.

A dance group from Indianapolis drove 10 hours and arrived in Philadelphia around 9 p.m. Thursday night, ready to perform in the city’s parade on Friday. 

The heat dashed those plans, but that didn’t stop Ballet Folklorico Mosaicos from dancing outside Independence Hall Friday afternoon. 

Their dance is inspired by an annual carnival in Veracruz, Mexico, said director Jesus Hernandez. 

Sporting pink wigs, white breeches and sequin vests, the Texas Glammas traveled from their home Lone Star State, to Philadelphia to dance in the parade.

The group of 23 ranges in age from 55 to 79. Their founder, Christina Rodriguez, said that the group started because they were “a group of women who just wanted to keep moving.”

The group has a flash mob interpretation of "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus planned for later Friday afternoon, which they planned to perform outside of Liberty Hall. It's one of several impromptu pop-up performances taking place across the Historic District in light of the parade's cancelation.

A Philadelphia-based federal appeals court gave President Donald Trump’s administration the final go-ahead to install its own exhibit at the President’s House.

The new panels, which historians criticized for whitewashing George Washington’s role in enslaving nine people, have been manufactured and stand ready to install, the Justice Department told the court. 

The procedural step, which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit took on an observed federal holiday, followed a Thursday request by Justice Department attorneys to allow the National Park Service to “begin work immediately and install its new exhibits.” 

And, we're pivoting!

Despite the Semiquincentennial Parade's cancelation, some groups who have traveled far and wide to Philadelphia will get to perform anyway.

Organizers just announced that starting at noon and stretching across the day, marching bands, color guards, and dance troupes from across the country will do informal pop-up performances throughout the Historic District.

Lines snake through the exterior courtyard of Independence Hall. Although entries have been paused as the building has surged at capacity, history buffs dressed in colonial costume — hats and wigs on, despite the heat —give mini lectures on the country's founding.

“It feels important to follow the footsteps of our founding fathers these days,” says Alex Bergstedt, who travelled from Idaho with his wife. They came to Philadelphia because they “knew Fourth of July would be big.”

Nicholas Roth came to Philadelphia from upstate New York with two friends. The 26-year-old reflects, “I'm walking where the Founding Fathers were."

Facing a screen showing the cheering Philadelphia audience, Pope Leo XIV wore his Liberty Medal along with his cross around his neck, live from the Vatican.

Leo, who grew up in Chicago and attended Villanova University, pointed to his roots in the United States.

“As a son of this great country, founded by courageous men and women who dreamed of liberty and of a better life for themselves and for their children, I join you in asking God's blessings upon America's future that the lofty ideals enshrined at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence may continue to guide the flourishing of the nation in unity, justice, and peace,” he said.

Pope Leo XIV's ties to the Philadelphia area and Pennsylvania could not be ignored on Friday.

In his remarks, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro highlighted the history of the nation's founding in Pennsylvania and said he was proud the pope was educated in the state.

Shapiro, a Democrat, said his own Jewish faith calls him to service, and to him, “it means that each of us has a responsibility to get off the sidelines.”

Rabbi Jill L. Maderer, of Congregation Rodeph Shalom, cited the nearby President’s House site, a federal park site that highlighted how President George Washington enslaved people, until President Donald Trump’s administration ordered much of the exhibit to be taken down. She was among Christian, Muslim, and Jewish faith leaders who spoke ahead of the pope’s speech.

Amid a legal fight between Philadelphia and the Trump administration, many of the walls of the President’s House site remain bare as tourists flood Independence Mall for the United States' 250th anniversary. But protesters have hung up signs at the exhibit pointing people to news coverage and other information about the exhibit.

Maderer said Washington’s home, “where he enslaved human beings,” lay just west of the event. And to the east is a museum exhibit that has a letter from Washington to a Jewish community in 1790 assuring they would have religious liberty.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, and other interfaith religious leaders sat on stage ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s speech at the National Constitution Center.

Democrats Parker, a Baptist, and Shapiro, who is Jewish have each been outspoken about their own faiths.

“My faith has carried me through every season of my life, and serving as your 100th mayor has only strengthened my belief that we are strongest when we come together in service of something that is greater than ourselves,” Parker said in remarks ahead of the pope’s speech.

The city's free major Fourth of July concert featuring Jill Scott, Christina Aguilera, The Roots, Will Smith, Freeway, and many more on Saturday is still a go.

That's according to city organizers, who reiterated Friday that the event is rain-or-shine.

“The city is implementing water misting stations along the Ben Franklin Parkway, and there will be water refilling stations for anyone who needs one," organizers told The Inquirer. "Fans are encouraged to bring a clear empty 20-ounce water bottle for refilling throughout the evening.”

The major heat wave has certainly impacted events for the nation's 250th anniversary locally, including today's parade and yesterday's Salute to Service concert with Queen Latifah.

But this isn't just a Philly thing.

Dozens of parades, celebrations, and fireworks shows have been postponed, re-imagined, or cancelled entirely because of the dangerous heat conditions.

Alex Moreno woke up to a call from the Semiquincentennial Parade organizers early Friday, announcing the cancellation of the event.

As the president of Gente de Venezuela, Moreno was one of 50 people scheduled to march with the Venezuelan coalition in the celebration of the United States' 250th anniversary.

“We’re sad because it took months of hard work to set up the float, the attire, and schedule the guests from other cities to come,” Moreno said.

While the formal Salute to Independence Parade was canceled citing the extreme temperatures, spectators were still catching a glimpse of the floats before they retire.

On Friday morning, the larger-than-life elaborate floats could be seen proceeding down Arch and Fifth Streets, then to Chestnut Street.

The floats were anticipated to make a pit stop in front of Independence Mall this morning in lieu of their big route.

Pope Leo XIV is being honored for “his commitment to religious liberty and freedom of conscience,” so he’ll likely speak on those themes, Julie Silverbrook, the chief content and learning officer for the National Constitution Center, said in an interview Friday morning ahead of his speech.

What does that mean, anyway?

The freedom of conscience, she said, is the right to “believe, think, feel, of every human being.”

The day after tying a record high for the date, 103, the temperature didn’t get below 82 overnight, which would be a record-high minimum temperature for July 3 if it holds until midnight.

An encore is expected Saturday morning. (We will eschew saying “hotter than a firecracker.”)

The record for both dates is 77 and 79, respectively.

In a letter sent Friday morning to parade participants, Welcome America, Inc. President and CEO Michael DelBene wrote that he was saddened by the decision to cancel the Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade, but it came down to safety.

"If we can't do it safely, we simply won't do it," DelBene wrote.

DelBene said the decision was not reached by just parade organizers, but a mix of parade leadership, local offices, and agencies.

The National Weather Service doesn't anticipate this extreme heat backing off for the sake of the Nation's big birthday.

Sunny and hot, with a high near 104 and heat index values as high as 111, the Philadelphia region remains under two hazardous weather conditions, including an extreme heat advisory and an air quality alert, advising that pollution could affect people with respiratory and heart conditions.

The hope is that things temper down by tonight, with Idina Menzel's Pops Orchestra appearance being pushed back an hour to 8 p.m. to accommodate the severe weather.

Wawa’s Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade is canceled due to high temperatures, according to organizers.

The parade was set to start Friday at noon after a delay was already announced Thursday.

The Pops concert Friday night, featuring Idina Menzel, is still on, according to Wawa Welcome America. A later start time of 8 p.m. was announced earlier this week.

Pope Leo XIV will accept the National Constitution Center’s Liberty Medal on Friday at 11 a.m., delivering remarks live from the Vatican that will be broadcast inside the Sixth and Arch building.

The U.S.-born pontiff’s speech is a major addition to Philadelphia’s already extensive lineup of activities and events on the eve of the United States’ 250th birthday on July Fourth.

His speech will be particularly anticipated in Philadelphia given the Semiquincentennial and Leo’s deep ties to the Philly area.

America’s 250th birthday is finally here, and organizations throughout Philadelphia have planned a full itinerary of celebrations for the weekend.

For those seeking historical enrichment, live music from national headliners, or even a patriotic pet parade, look no further.

Here is a schedule of the activities and events happening in the city Friday:

Friday’s high is expected to challenge the reigning champ, the 104 set during a blistering heat wave in 1966, when the nation was a mere 190 years old.

On Saturday, when Philly celebrates the nation’s 250th birthday, the high may fall just short of 100, said Matt Benz, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather, as the high pressure “heat dome” covering much of the nation loses some of its protective power over Philly.

That also could be a window for “ring of fire” thunderstorms that could be nasty. The federal Storm Prediction Center sees a 15% chance that any storms on Saturday could become “severe,” with wind gusts up to 60 mph.

As the mercury climbed above 100 degrees in the Philadelphia region two days before the nation’s 250th birthday, it was, it seemed, too hot for liberty as originally planned.

Thursday marked the start of the Red White & Blue To-Do — Philadelphia’s third-annual celebration of the day the Second Continental Congress voted to adopt a resolution of independence here on July 2, 1776. Though many events honoring that anniversary were planned, several highly anticipated gatherings were canceled or postponed due to the heat.

And yet, despite the oppressive temperatures on a particularly toasty July day in the cradle of the nation’s founding, the celebration started early Thursday.