July 4th is a quintessential American holiday. We gorge on hot dogs, burgers and coleslaw, sit in lawn chairs and watch as trained professionals blow up explosives into fancy color patterns in the night sky.
↵While the Arizona climate makes it difficult to enjoy the outdoors aspect of the holiday, it's not impossible -- Tempe hosts an annual celebration full of food, families and fireworks.
↵Tempe Town Lake is a pretty good place to host such an event, with tons of garage parking and wide open spaces over the lake to set off the fireworks.
↵There will be a lot of food vendors at the celebration, and the gates open at 4:00 PM this afternoon.
↵Not going to be in Tempe today? Chandler is also hosting a fireworks show. This one is at Tumbleweed Park, which is located on the southwest corner of Germann and McQueen.
↵Chandler's fireworks are set to launch at 9:30 PM, so wherever you are in the east valley, you should be able to witness some (legal) explosives tonight.
↵Happy 4th of July, everyone! Be safe tonight.