🎆 Your fireworks game plan

Your Guide To Fourth Of July Fireworks

It’s almost this country’s 250th birthday, and no matter how you feel about birthdays or this country, we’ve assembled a guide (to attending or avoiding) celebrations around the city and beyond.

• Fireworks on Lake Union: There are two official places to view the Lake Union fireworks show: Gas Works and Lake Union Park. To attend the party at Gas Works Park, you need a ticket. They’re free and first-come, first-served and can be secured here. The event at Lake Union Park doesn’t require tickets for entry. Both also have the option for reserved seating, and the Lake Union Park event offers reserved ADA seating options and a dedicated entrance for wheelchair accessibility. Fireworks begin at about 10:15 p.m., with entry to Gas Works Park closing after 8 p.m. and after 9 p.m. at Lake Union Park. And for those of you feeling sneaky, maybe don’t try swimming or kayaking in. Organizers say no one will be permitted to enter the parks via the water. [Seafair 4th of July]
• Space Needle, rooftop parties, home viewing, and other options: You can also buy tickets to watch the fireworks from The Space Needle – entry will begin at 8:30 pm – or from the roof of The Mountaineering Club’s 4th of July Summer Camp party, which includes a pie-eating contest. If you want to avoid the crowds, Fox 13 Seattle will broadcast the show live. And if you want to avoid fireworks altogether, you’ve got options. There’s Seattle artist Donna Lipowitz’s Scent Lending Library in Georgetown, Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam Volume 31 at Theatre Off Jackson, and The Lesbian Holy Trinity: Short Film Series at Pipsqueak.
• Cars and ferries galore: We all know traffic is a beast during this holiday. And not just on the roads. Washington State Ferries (WSF) expects about 400,000 passengers during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, making it one of the busiest travel periods of the year. As for driving out of town, The Seattle Times’ Kai Uyehara has a full breakdown of what to expect from traffic over the full holiday weekend. Let’s just say it’s not as simple as leaving early or coming back late. You’re going to want to plan carefully. [KING 5, Seattle Times]

🏘️ Homelessness services undergo big restructure: The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) has faced intense scrutiny over the last few months. Now, King County Executive Girmay Zahilay and Mayor Katie Wilson announced they are taking back control of funds for homelessness services – more than $160 million in contracts. These include emergency shelter beds, long-term housing programs, and short-term rental assistance. By January, KCRHA will only manage federal funds. [Seattle Times]

🥁 Coast Salish culture at the World Cup: The Puyallup Tribe of Indians is the first Indigenous nation to officially partner with a World Cup host city. This partnership has shown up throughout events, signage, and programming. Welcome signs, transit directions, and cultural hubs feature Lushootseed (dxʷləšúcid), an Indigenous language spoken by Coast Salish tribes. And the ongoing fan zone with Puyallup artists, vendors, and food trucks is open during Seattle matches. [Seattle Mag]

🧑🏻‍⚖️ How SCOTUS ruling impacts WA’s student athletes: The U.S. Supreme Court upheld state laws banning transgender girls from playing on girls’ school sports teams. The ruling leaves Washington’s legal protections for trans athletes untouched. Let’s Go Washington, the PAC pushing the ballot measure to ban trans girls from girls’ sports, called the ruling “a huge win.” Their measure would likely require all girls to obtain genital exams to play school sports. Mayor Wilson called the SCOTUS decision a threat to the vision of sports as “welcoming and life-affirming” for all kids. [KUOW]